NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — A Slidell man has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison in a fentanyl, firearm and money-laundering case, federal prosecutors said.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Gregory Smith Jr., 43, of Slidell, was sentenced by United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier on October 22, 2026, to 151 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced. The court also imposed a mandatory $100 special assessment fee per count, prosecutors said.

Smith previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, over 400 grams of fentanyl, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions derived from specified unlawful activity, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

What investigators said they seized

According to court documents cited by prosecutors, Smith conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Eastern District of Louisiana and elsewhere. On May 4, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration searched Smith's residence and seized approximately 10,593.572 grams of fentanyl, 3.76 grams of cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia including two digital scales with fentanyl residue, a cake pan and blenders with fentanyl residue, and a vacuum sealer, prosecutors said. Law enforcement also seized $15,520 in cash and a Masterpiece Arms MPA Defender nine-millimetre semi-automatic submachine gun with an extended magazine, they said.

151 monthsFederal prison sentence
10,593 gramsFentanyl seized at the home, prosecutors said
$15,520Cash seized in the May 2023 search
5 yearsSupervised release after prison

The money-laundering allegations in the plea

Prosecutors said that in July and August 2021, Smith structured cash deposits of illegal narcotics proceeds into a bank account, then sent a wire to a credit union account using the funds to pay off the balance on a car and to purchase an official check for $27,617.55 made out to a title company, which was used at the closing of the purchase of Smith's residence. Smith also used $48,931 in illegal drug proceeds to purchase a 2018 Maserati Levante, they said.

"Through the hard work of our Homeland Security Task Force, we dismantled not only a massive fentanyl operation, but also the elaborate financial illusion built behind it," DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Randy Harness said in the announcement. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Frank Besson also praised the partnership in the same announcement.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachal Cassagne and André Jones of the Narcotics Unit, prosecutors said.