By David Rasbach / The Bellingham Herald
Two men were arrested Friday in Whittier, Alaska, after disembarking from a ferry out of Bellingham when they allegedly were found in possession of a backpack containing an estimated $225,000 worth of methamphetamine.
According to a story posted by KNOE.com, Eric James Hansen and Marshal Parke both have been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
According to federal charging documents filed by the Alaska District Attorney’s Office, a “suspicious passenger” was reported leaving the M/V Kennicott ferry that arrived Thursday out of Bellingham. He got into a silver GMC Yukon, according to a story by the Anchorage Daily News, and was later identified as Hansen.
Police reportedly pulled the Yukon over, and a police dog indicated the presence of drugs, KNOE reported. The resulting search, reportedly yielded a backpack containing 33 pounds of what is suspected to be methamphetamine, as well as $8,000 in cash, a glass pipe and a small bag of a white powder substance.
According to travel records, the Daily News reported, Hansen and Parke boarded the ferry in Bellingham on July 21 and rode it to Whittier, with several brief stops in southeastern Alaska towns.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Investigative Service and Alaska State Troopers announced plans in March to randomly search Alaska Marine Highway System ferries in Bellingham, as well as the Alaskan port cities of Juneau, Ketchikan and Whittier, according to a story published by the Juneau Empire. The main purpose of the searches was to find drugs, explosives and ammunition, according to the story.
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