An 18-year-old Haines man was charged in federal court last week on a felony drug complaint that he attempted to bring 800 pills of the drug “Ecstasy” into the country at the U.S. border station here Nov. 9.
The defendant told state trooper Josh Bentz that he’d bought the pills in Canada and was trying to bring them back into the country, according to federal court documents. At about $30 per pill, the drugs may have a combined street value of about $24,000, according to Alaska State Troopers.
“I’ve never seen it intercepted in such a large quantity. It’s a significant amount to be intercepted coming into Alaska,” said trooper Sgt. Chris Russell of Juneau.
The pills were found in the hitch of a maroon Chevy truck the defendant was driving during a customs examination.
Two individuals traveling with the defendant were not charged. The truck was impounded by officials at the border. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The defendant was being held this week at Juneau’s Lemon Creek jail.
“He’s very scared. This is a very serious charge and he’s a very young man. If this happened three weeks ago, he’d have been charged as a juvenile,” said public defender Sue Ellen Tatter.
Two federal immigration officers in Haines last week took the defendant to Juneau. According to Kevin Blackmore, agent for the Department of Homeland Security, the case is still under investigation.
A grand jury has yet to be convened in the matter and the defendant hadn’t entered a plea as of Tuesday, according to Tatter.
Although drug possession cases are typically handled by the state’s justice system, crimes involving transportation and importation are federal offenses, Tatter said. Federal laws aren’t as generous about parole as state laws, she said. Also, if convicted, the defendant would serve his time in a federal prison in the Lower 48.
“This is a high priority for our office,” said public defender Tatter. “We’ll try every legal way to get him into a better position.” She forbid press contact with the defendant.
Haines Police chief Gary Lowe said this week that he didn’t believe Ecstasy was a big problem in Haines. He said he had received a few complaints about the drug in recent weeks from concerned citizens.
Lowe said he had no opinion on whether he believed the 800 pills were destined for buyers in Haines.
Juneau trooper Russell said Ecstasy isn’t a big issue in that city. “I wouldn’t say we see a lot of it. It’s usually a pill here or a pill there.”
The family of the defendant did not respond to a newspaper request for comment.