Pennsylvania man sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking operation

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Lance Smith, of Confluence, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to time served for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.

Smith, 48, pled guilty in April 2021 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin and Cocaine Base.” Smith admitted to working with others to distribute heroin and cocaine base, also known as “crack,” from March 2018 to September 2020 in Monongalia County and elsewhere.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

Related press release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/seventeen-people-charged-heroin-and-crack-cocaine-distribution-operation