ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – An Anchorage man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for leading a drug trafficking organization attempting to traffic fentanyl and heroin into Alaska, according to the Department of Justice.
Marcelino Juarez, 31, led a conspiracy to purchase fentanyl and heroin in California and transport them to Alaska through the mail or in checked airline baggage, according to court documents. Juarez conspired with five others during this process, including his brother Julio.
Juarez was identified as a drug supplier in Anchorage as early as September 2022, court documents say. On Sept. 13 of that year, law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on a trailer in Anchorage he was living in, from which they seized over $71,000 in cash and a Draco AK style pistol with a loaded magazine.
The investigation into the conspiracy came to a head on Aug. 22, 2024, when agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified a suspicious parcel destined for a residence in Anchorage.
On Aug. 26, law enforcement executed a search warrant on the parcel and seized over two kilograms of fentanyl…