A convicted drug dealer hailing from Muskegon, whose three-decade prison sentence was commuted when former President Joe Biden was sitting in the White House, has now been charged with conspiring to launder drug money in a new, unrelated case. Federal court records that were unsealed allege Lakento Smith, 54, decided against using the commuted sentence as a fresh start and returned to a life of crime.
While Smith is only being charged with money laundering conspiracy, he told investigators that he has also been facilitating large shipments of cocaine into the state of Michigan every week while he was still in federal prison. The records say that Smith was caught in his new extracurricular activities thanks to undercover surveillance, bricks of cash, and spy gadgets.
Smith is accused of working with an accused drug dealer in Muskegon Heights and laundering $130,000 in drug money from his new home in Houston, Texas. In a recorded phone call with an undercover DEA investigator who posed as a money launderer, Smith makes a reference to his clemency. “…Protect me,” Smith says to the agent, “because I’m fresh home.”
“Based on the recorded call, I believe Smith uses couriers to try to distance himself from his illegal activities because he was recently released from federal prison,” Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Special Agent Joseph Mack wrote in the criminal case, according to The Detroit News. If he is convicted, Smith could spend 20 years behind bars.
A press release from the Justice Department reveals that two other individuals were also arrested for charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. Javon Drevelle Brewer, 58, and Fletcher Lee Salazar, 40, were also taken into custody. All three were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including 400 mg of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.
“Today’s indictment highlights our office’s unwavering commitment to protecting our communities from those who traffic in deadly narcotics and attempt to conceal their illicit profits through money laundering,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey. “The charges allege that these individuals conspired to distribute dangerous controlled substances, including more than 400 grams of fentanyl—a poison that continues to drive overdoses across our district—and then sought to hide the proceeds.
We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who endanger our communities are held accountable,” VerHey continued. DEA Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph Dixon said, “These indictments demonstrate our commitment to protecting communities across west Michigan from those who profit from the illegal drug trade.”
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“By targeting both the drugs and the money behind them, we are sending a clear message: drug traffickers will be identified, their operations will be dismantled, and they will be held accountable in a court of law for their actions,” Dixon added. The records then reveal that Smith transferred some of the money from the drug dealer into his wife’s bank account and through cashier’s checks. Some of the cash was used to purchase a white box truck to hide the source and origin of the money.