(Anchorage, AK) – The Alaska Department of Public Safety and our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners have seized over 212 pounds of illegal narcotics as part of a focused enforcement initiative that occurred across the state this Summer. Law enforcement seized approximately 2.45 million potentially fatal doses of illicit fentanyl as part of the operation. Additionally, 22,441 grams of heroin, 22,865 grams of methamphetamine, 13,306 grams of cocaine, and many other illicit narcotics have been seized since May.
“My administration is focused on the doing all that we can to respond to the large amounts of illicit fentanyl and other drugs pouring into our state from Mexico via the lower 48,” said Governor Mike Dunleavy. “Leading the charge on this effort are the great teams at the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Health which have made significant progress this year. Together they are making a difference across our state by both removing illegal drugs from circulation, providing treatment to those suffering from addiction, providing life-saving medication such as naloxone, and educating Alaskans about the dangers of illegal drug use.”
The May 1, 2022 – September 30, 2022, period shows that Alaska’s law enforcement doubled seizures from 2021 and represents one of Alaska’s highest periods for drug seizures. Seizures were made across the state by drug investigators working in both urban and rural Alaska working for local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies. As part of the focused enforcement effort the Alaska Department of Public Safety temporarily reassigned multiple Alaska Wildlife Troopers to assist with drug interdiction efforts over the Summer, and authorized additional overtime for our existing drug investigators.
“Law enforcement is committed to doing our part to address the tidal wave of illegal drugs coming into our state. With the increase in overdoses occurring in 2021, we put more Troopers onto our drug interdiction teams then we have ever had, and increased our efforts across the board,” said Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. “To those trafficking these dangerous drugs in Alaska, know that sooner or later Alaska’s dedicated Alaska State Troopers and law enforcement officers will eventually catch up with you and hold you accountable for the death and destruction that you have causes our state.”
Drug seizures reported today were made by the law enforcement agencies that make up Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative. Their seizures are reported to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Alaska’s HIDTA initiative is made up of the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Alaska Department of Law, Anchorage Police Department, Juneau Police Department, Kodiak Police Department, Petersburg Police Department, Bethel Police Department, Fairbanks Police Department, Ketchikan Police Department, North Slope Borough Police Department, Sand Point Police Department, US Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Homeland Security Investigations, US Coast Guard Investigative Service, US Postal Service Inspection Service, and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.
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