Anchorage, Alaska - Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that an Anchorage man has been sentenced in federal court for conspiring to import methamphetamine from California to Alaska. Today, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason sentenced Alfa Souvandara, 42, of Anchorage, to serve 10 years in prison, following his guilty plea on Feb. 16, 2017.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonas Walker, Souvandara was the Anchorage connection for a co-conspirator who sent methamphetamine from California in September 2015. Employees of the shipping company noticed the package due to several suspicious characteristics, opened it, found the methamphetamine, and reported it to law enforcement. Later, during the execution of a search warrant, law enforcement found a loaded gun, drug paraphernalia, and cash in Souvandara’s home. Based on data from the United States Sentencing Guideline Commission, the government estimates that the package contained enough methamphetamine for approximately 352,000 typical illegal doses.
At sentencing, Judge Gleason referred to methamphetamine as a “horribly dangerous poison" that Congress has criminalized to protect the public. The co-conspirator’s sentencing is expected to occur later this year.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
