Police arrested a 29-year-old Haines man at the Juneau International Airport Tuesday as he exited the aircraft, according to a press release issued by Haines Police chief Heath Scott.
“Officers contacted (the man) on the suspicion of transporting controlled substances from Washington State, through Juneau, with his final destination being Haines,” Scott wrote. “HBPD provided personnel to the operation conducted at the Juneau International Airport.”
Police found 25 grams of fentanyl powder, 13 grams of methamphetamine, and one gram of cocaine on the man who’s now facing two felony charges for misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second and third degrees.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid which is legally prescribed but is often manufactured illegally. According to the DEA, it’s 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and is often laced in illegal drugs such as heroin or counterfeit pills. According to a May statement by Gov. Michael Dunleavy, fentanyl caused a 71% increase in opioid deaths in Alaska between 2020 and 2021.
The seized narcotics have an estimated street value of $27,000, Scott said.
Haines Police partnered with law enforcement from Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SECAD), a regional task force of municipal, state and federal law enforcement on that case and other recent charges related to methamphetamine.
This was the fourth bust related to narcotics this month. Officers Max Jusi and Travis Russel found a little more than 2 grams of meth and arrested a 36-year-old woman after a traffic stop on Lutak Road on Sunday, April 23. She was charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance, a misdemeanor charge.
The woman was pulled over for a traffic violation near Tanini Point on Lutak Road after arriving on the ferry. Her vehicle was impounded.
“They consented to a search of the vehicle pursuant to which we found some methamphetamine,” Jusi said. “The woman was arrested and booked and drugs were seized.”
Police arrested another woman who flew into Haines from Juneau who brought meth into town in early April. She told police she was directed to do so by Fred Folletti, who is facing two new charges for the possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Jusi also arrested Folletti on April 13 after executing a search warrant at his home. Jusi obtained the warrant after he found meth on a woman who Folletti dropped off at the ferry terminal. The woman said she received the meth from Folletti.
Folletti pled guilty to a drug conspiracy charge in the 2021 case and was scheduled to be sentenced on April 27. The penalties for the charge include a five-year minimum sentence and a $5 million fine. His federal probation was revoked after the most recent felony charges.
On all the cases besides Sundays’ arrest, Haines Police worked in partnership with the Juneau Police Department and the SECAD. Juneau Police Department Special Operations Lieutenant Krag Campbell said the partnership allows Southeast cities to share officers and equipment using federal High Intensity Drug Area funding.
“I think, collectively in Southeast, we’ve seen some increase in drugs,” Campbell said. “We see a lot more increase in fentanyl but meth stays a constant problem. Sometimes when you create drug cases, you get information and you can get another (case) and another.”