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Ketchikan Troopers Seize Over $250,000 Worth of Illicit Drugs; Lucrative drug Market in Alaska Says Statewide Annual Report

Posted & Edited by MARY KAUFFMAN

 

February 14, 2021
Sunday PM


(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - On February 5, 2021, Alaska State Troopers in Ketchikan, along with the Ketchikan Police Department, Ketchikan Airport Police, and Juneau DEA conducted a joint operation to disrupt the flow of illicit narcotics into Southeast, Alaska.

During the operation, 27-year-old Hydaburg resident Annette Dilts was contacted at the Ketchikan International Airport by law enforcement. During the contact and subsequent search of her person, Dilts was found to be internally body carrying 250 gross grams of suspected black tar heroin and approximately 206 suspected Fentanyl pills.

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The street value of Heroin in Ketchikan is approximately $1,000 a gram and the street value for a single pill of Oxycontin or Fentanyl is approximately $80.

The total value of the illegal drugs seized is approximately $266,000. Dilts was remanded to the Ketchikan Correctional Center on two counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a Class B Felony.

“There is a tidal wave of illicit drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, being pushed into Alaska constantly. The Alaska State Troopers and our law enforcement partners remain committed to disrupting and halting the flow of controlled substances into Alaska,” said Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit Deputy Commander Lieutenant C. Sims. 

Sims said, “I commend all of the law enforcement officers that worked together to successfully interdict these narcotics and keep them off of the streets of Alaska.”

This investigation was supported by the Southeast Alaska Communities Against Drugs (SEACAD) Enforcement Initiative which is one of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) regional taskforces. SEACAD is comprised of Alaska State Troopers, local police officers, and federal law enforcement officials.

On February 4th, The Alaska Department of Public Safety’s Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) released its annual drug report highlighting trends in illegal narcotics trafficking in Alaska. The annual report presented to the Alaska Legislature details reported street prices for illicit drugs, the impressive amount of illicit drugs and alcohol seized by the SDEU, average sentences given to offenders of Alaska’s controlled substances criminal statutes, as well as an overview of the illegal narcotics and illicit alcohol problem in Alaska. 

Highlights from 2020 Annual Drug Report:

  • In 2020, there were 1,447.82 grams and 150 dosage units of fentanyl seized by SDEU. Fentanyl is an emerging drug in Alaska and poses a danger to society and law enforcement. Only two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal.

  • In 2020, SDEU made 165 unique drug and alcohol arrests across Alaska.

  • From 2019 to 2020, there was a 320 percent change increase in marijuana seizures and a 174 percent change increase in cocaine seizures.

  • International drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) continue to gravitate towards Alaska’s lucrative drug market.

“The SDEU is committed to disrupting the ever-present trafficking of illicit drugs in Alaska, not only to save lives and hold criminals accountable but to improve the quality of life for the law-abiding citizens that call this amazing state home, ” said Lieutenant Sims, Deputy Commander of the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit.

Sims said, “The SDEU and its regional task forces will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to rid Alaska’s streets of illegal drugs and alcohol and arrest those responsible.”

The Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit is made up of seven regional task forces: Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team (AAIT), Fairbanks Area-wide Narcotics Team (FANT), Kodiak Area-wide Narcotics Team (KANT), Mat-Su Drug Narcotics Enforcement Team, Kenai Peninsula Drug Team (KPDT), Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD), and Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team (WAANT).

Each regional task force is comprised of Alaska State Troopers, local police officers, and federal law enforcements agents.

Additionally, Alaska has three High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) teams the Southcentral Areawide Narcotics Team, Fairbanks Areawide Narcotics Team, and Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Team.

 

On the Web:

2020 Annual Drug Report (pdf)

 

 

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Public Safety
www.dps.alaska.gov

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