Ohio County Man Admits to Role in Drug Trafficking Operation

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Daryl Smith, 50, of Wheeling, West Virginia, has admitted to the distribution of cocaine base.

According to court documents, Smith was selling cocaine base in Ohio County. Smith is one of 12 defendants involved in a drug trafficking operation that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Ohio Valley.

Smith faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Nogay and United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, all HIDTA-funded initiatives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; West Virginia State Police; Wheeling Police Department; Ohio County Sheriff’s Office; and the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.

Press release on the associated case: www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-twenty-six-drug-trafficking