A former East Carolina University football player, Richard Dwight Alston, was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in federal prison for drug and money laundering crimes, authorities said.

Alston, 39, of Raleigh, engaged in a multi-year, cross-country conspiracy to traffic-in large amounts of marijuana and to distribute high-grade marijuana to associates in Raleigh, authorities said.

Federal agents executed a search warrant in November 2017 for apartments that were suspected to be stash locations for Alston’s marijuana organization after several years of investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. More than 40 pounds of marijuana and $371,670 in cash were found during the search, authorities said.

 Agents were then able to intercept the delivery of Alston’s next drug shipment and arrested two individuals responsible for transporting the marijuana intended for Alston and others. A search of their vehicle revealed seven duffel bags containing almost 200 kilograms of marijuana and $67,814 in cash, authorities said.

A financial investigation conducted by the IRS revealed that Alston had laundered more than $2.7 million in drug proceeds through a business bank account over a period of several years, authorities said.

A judge also ordered Alston to forfeit $2,708,000 in laundered proceeds.

Alston played quarterback, running back and wide receiver for ECU from 1999 to 2002. He played with the Cleveland Browns in 2004. He also played with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe and the Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League in a brief professional career.