Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit
Alaska’s geographical vastness, coupled with limited law enforcement resources, means that no single law enforcement agency is capable of handling the drug and alcohol problems alone. Utilizing a combination of federal and state funding, the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) participates in and funds a number of multi-jurisdictional forces around the state. SDEU works closely with its federal and municipal partners. It has the unique ability to interdict and investigate cases across the state. Recognizing that drug abuse is not confined to any one geographical location or economic strata, the Unit aggressively confronts drug and alcohol traffickers. Battling drugs and alcohol in Alaska is an ever-changing effort to identify smuggling trends and to pin down the adaptive nature of the traffickers.
Mission
Interdict and seize alcohol and controlled substances that are illegally distributed throughout Alaska
Identify and arrest distributors of controlled substances and illegal alcohol
Provide training and investigative support to criminal justice agencies
Support and participate in public education programs
SDEU also recognizes that the ill-gotten gains of drug traffickers and alcohol smugglers promote an increase in lawlessness of all types. This lawlessness is not isolated to the use of controlled substances. Of all cases initiated by the Alaska State Troopers in recent years, 37-47 percent involved either drugs or alcohol, sometimes both. It includes, but is not limited to: burglary, theft, domestic violence, assaults, and murder. By eradicating such activity and arresting those who would profit off the misery of others, Alaska and its communities will be a much better and safer place to live and raise a family. SDEU, along with its partner agencies throughout the state, diligently dedicates its resources and energy toward that goal.
2025 Drug Seizure Highlights
Regional Drug Teams
The SDEU headquarters office in Anchorage supports six investigative teams throughout the state. They are:
Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team (AAIT)
The Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team (AAIT) is a multi-jurisdictional task force based out of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, sponsored by the Alaska State Troopers. The AAIT is responsible for investigations that involve drug trafficking into the State of Alaska as well as around the State at various ports of entry to include passengers and luggage arriving at airport terminals; packages, and cargo shipped through parcel delivery services; and commercial cargo carriers. The AAIT is comprised of members of the Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Airport Police, Anchorage Police Department, North Slope Borough Police, Sand Point Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The AAIT works very closely with all Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies in southcentral Alaska.
Tips can be reported to (907) 352-5401, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app or online here.
Anchorage fax line: (907) 338-7243
Fairbanks Area-wide Narcotics Team (FANT)
The Fairbanks Area-wide Narcotics Team is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force that works to combat drug trafficking and distribution in the Interior Alaska region, but also reaches as far north as Barrow and east to the Canadian border. The Fairbanks team includes members of the Alaska State Troopers, Fairbanks Police and North Pole Police. The Fairbanks team works closely with other investigative units including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, United State Marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and all other military, state and local agencies.
Tips can be reported to (907) 451-5100, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app.
Mat-Su Drug Narcotics Enforcement Team
The Mat-Su Drug Enforcement team focuses on drug investigations within the Matanuska-Susitna region to include Palmer, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Glennallen, Valdez, and Cordova. The Mat-Su Drug team works closely with the uniformed patrol section of the Alaska State Troopers to educate, train, and support efforts related to drug enforcement. The Mat-Su Drug team also lends supportto the Palmer Police Department and Wasilla Police Department with drug investigations. Additionally, the Mat-Su Drug Enforcement team works many joint investigations with the Anchorage Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
Tips can be reported to (907) 352-5401, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app.
Southcentral Area-wide Narcotics Team
The Southcentral Area-wide Narcotics (SCAN) team primarily focuses on illegal drug investigations throughout the Kenai Peninsula. The team is comprised of members of the Alaska State Troopers and the Kenai Police Department. Communities within SCAN’s area of responsibility include Whittier, Seldovia, Homer, Soldotna, Kenai, Girdwood, and Seward. The team is dedicated to working closely with Federal law enforcement agencies as well as the local police departments in these communities and uniformed patrol units of the Alaska State Troopers, to educate and support their efforts in drug enforcement.
Soldotna Dispatch: (907) 262-4453
Tips can be reported to (907) 262-4453, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app
Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs
The Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Task Force (SEACAD) is a pro-active task force whose primary goal is to reduce illegal drug trafficking in Southeast Alaska. SEACAD provides investigative support to Petersburg, Wrangell, Craig, Klawock, Yakutat, Juneau, Hoonah, Sitka, Haines, Skagway, Cordova, and Ketchikan police departments. SEACAD is based on a cooperative agreement in which all southeast Alaska cities, the Alaska State Troopers and Federal law enforcement partners have agreed to pool resources and collaborate to combat drug trafficking and distribution anywhere in Southeast Alaska. SEACAD has full-time investigative personnel located in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Petersburg. Due to Southeast Alaska’s relative proximity to Canada and the contiguous 48 United States, SEACAD has developed excellent working relationships with several other State and International agencies in an effort to interdict illegal drugs flowing into Southeast Alaska.
Tips can be reported to (907) 451-5100, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app.
Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team (WAANT)
The primary area of responsibility for the Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team (WAANT) includes the Kotzebue, Nome, Bethel, Dillingham, Kodiak, the Aleutian Chain, and their surrounding villages. Due to the vast number of local option communities in Western Alaska, a significant portion of this team’s focus is on illegal alcohol enforcement. They target drug traffickers and illegal alcohol bootleggers through undercover operations and interdictions. Alcohol shipped to and/or purchased in regional hubs such as Nome, Bethel, Kotzebue, or Dillingham is then illegally distributed to nearby communities which have voted to restrict alcohol in some manner by banning the importation, sale and/or possession of alcohol under the local option laws of Alaska.
The WAANT unit consists of members of the Alaska State Troopers, Kotzebue Police, Bethel Police, and Kodiak Police. The most common methods of importing illegal alcohol and drugs into rural communities are via the U.S. Postal Service, local airlines, and cargo carriers. Because much of the illegal alcohol and drugs being distributed in rural Alaska are shipped through the U.S. mail, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducts interdictions with direct support from AST. These efforts consist of personnel monitoring packages en route to outlying villages and communities through U.S.Postal facilities in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, and Dillingham. Suspicious packages are brought to the attention of the U.S. Postal Inspectors, who then decide the best course of action to investigate the shipment. Cross deputation of the WAANT investigators by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been in place since 2007. This cross deputation has given WAANT investigators additional authority when conducting investigations involving U.S. Mail parcels containing alcohol.
Tips can be reported to (907) 451-5100, or made anonymously through the AKTips smartphone app.
Alaska Drug Reports
Each year, the Alaska Department of Public Safety publishes an annual report highlighting the efforts of the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit.