Fairbanks woman caught smuggling marijuana to Nuiqsut
Published in the Arctic Sounder
Mar 11th, 2010
BARROW - According to the North Slope Borough Police Department, at about 12 p.m. Feb. 5 borough police officers contacted Erica Kunaknana, 26, at the Central Checkpoint, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, after Purcell Security personnel found a 750 ml bottle of Svedka vodka in her vehicle. Kunaknana, a resident of Fairbanks, was driving to the village of Nuiqsut, which is a dry village since 1983.
While being detained by police, Kunaknana attempted to discard a bag containing nearly 90 grams of marijuana and 310 small plastic baggies associated with the sale and distribution of marijuana. The estimated street value of the marijuana seized is $2,495.
Kunaknana consented to a search of her vehicle, where officers found a second bottle of Svedka vodka. The estimated street value of the alcohol seized is $400.
Charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree, importation of alcoholic beverages into a local option area and violation of conditions of release are being forwarded to the district attorney's office for prosecution. Kunaknana is currently on conditions of release for a previous felony importation case.