ANCHORAGE, Alaska – For the first time, the Department of Public Safety has developed a dashboard to inform the public on efforts the Alaska State Troopers are taking to stop drug trafficking in the state. Available data includes total seizures made by the Alaska State Troopers’ Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) by month for the last three months, and all seizures made by the AST K9 units during the month of May. SDEU K9s not only assist the Alaska State Troopers with investigations; they assist other federal, state, and local departments across the state as well.
“For years, the Alaska State Troopers, along with our partner agencies, have been working diligently to get illicit drugs off the streets, and publishing these numbers will allow the people of Alaska to see the results of our hard work,” Commissioner Walt Monegan said. “Prevention remains an important focus in fighting the opioid epidemic; we can’t arrest our way out of this problem, and we encourage Alaskans to seek help if they or one of their friends or loved ones is misusing illicit substances.”
The Drug Seizure Dashboard will be updated around the 20th of each month, providing numbers for the previous month. Substance seizures include heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and U.S. currency.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]“The Public Safety Action Plan identifies numerous ways the state is working to build a Safer Alaska, and drug interdiction is a key part of that,” Governor Bill Walker said. “These numbers show the success our State Troopers and other law enforcement agencies are having in their ongoing efforts to keep illicit substances off our streets and protect the people of Alaska. I commend them for their work.”