Fairbanks Federal Building | courts.alaska.gov
A Savoonga woman was sentenced on Apr. 24 to 10 years in prison for trafficking large amounts of illegal drugs into her small Alaskan community, according to federal authorities.
The case highlights concerns about the impact of drug trafficking on rural communities like Savoonga, which has a population of around 835 people and is located on St. Lawrence Island. Law enforcement officials said the influx of fentanyl posed a serious threat to residents.
Court documents show that in December 2022, law enforcement intercepted a parcel addressed to Michelle Pungowiyi at a Savoonga P.O. Box and found over 3,000 illicit fentanyl pills. Another parcel intercepted weeks later contained more than 4,000 fentanyl pills. Authorities were unable to stop a third package in February 2023 before it was delivered.
Investigators determined that Pungowiyi communicated with the alleged leader of the drug organization, who is believed to be an inmate in California. Text messages indicated that two packages did not reach their intended destination in Savoonga.
“Ms. Pungowiyi tried to traffic over 7,000 illegal fentanyl pills into the small community of Savoonga, enough to potentially kill the entire village population eight times over,” said U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon. “Her role in this drug trafficking organization shows that suppliers and dealers will stop at nothing to exploit Alaskans, no matter where they are located. Thanks to the incredible law enforcement and prosecutorial work, we are taking drug traffickers out of the pipeline one after another.”
“Ms. Pungowiyi trafficked deadly fentanyl into her own remote Alaskan village targeting her vulnerable community with enough poison to kill them all,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Through Fentanyl Free America, DEA is working alongside our partners to disrupt the criminal networks responsible for flooding communities with deadly drugs and to hold accountable those who profit from dealing in death. We will continue to pursue traffickers at every level and use every available tool to protect the American people from this unprecedented threat.”
“The distribution and use of illegal and dangerous narcotics have no place in the U.S. Postal Service and the State of Alaska. The conviction of Pungowiyi removes a plague from their community and a dangerous criminal,” said Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Seattle Division.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including Drug Enforcement Administration offices based in Seattle and Anchorage as well as Alaska State Troopers.
Assistant U.S Attorney Chris Schroeder prosecuted this case while Assistant U.S Attorney Steven D Clymer from New York acted as Special Attorney due to recusal by most personnel from Alaska’s U.S Attorney’s Office.
