NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, LARANZA THOMAS, a/k/a “Dude,” age 28, a resident of Houma, Louisiana, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release upon release from prison, as well as payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

This prosecution was a part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisiana State Police, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, the New Orleans Police Department, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Orleans Levee District Police Department, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections – Division of Probation and Parole. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr. of the Narcotics Unit.