KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kayla Desroches/KMXT
Law enforcement shut down a meth lab in the City of Kodiak earlier this month.
According to an Alaska State Troopers press release, on March 16 the troopers’ Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit got word that roughly half a pound of methamphetamine – about $82,760 worth – had been shipped from California to the “Kodiak Repair Shop”.
On March 17 at about 6:30 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Unit, the Kodiak Police Department, and the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service made contact with a person at the address written on the package.
From that point, law enforcement arrested Steven E. Stersic, age 56, of Kodiak and also found proof of drug trafficking and located a possible meth lab at an unspecified property.
They held off further exploring that area until the next day, when Anchorage-based Alaska State Troopers personnel with lab certifications could fly to the location to ensure it was safe to investigate. Once they declared the area secure, law enforcement was able to confirm that people had been using the location as a meth lab.
On March 23, members of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and Environmental Compliance Consultants supervised the removal of “hazardous material” from the property. That same day, the Kodiak grand jury charged Steven Stersic on four counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the second degree and one count of Misconduct Involving Weapons in the second degree.
Stersic had been released on $2,000 bail the day before the grand jury issued the bill of indictment against him.
