A Ketchikan man was found guilty on Tuesday of multiple drug and gun-related charges. 40-year-old Andrew Hanson was arrested early last year after law enforcement found him in possession of roughly 10,000 fentanyl pills and nearly 300 grams of powdered methamphetamine and fentanyl.
It was part of a larger crackdown by Alaska State Troopers, Ketchikan Police, and a regional drug task force. According to a press release from Alaska’s attorney general, the overall investigation resulted in law enforcement seizing 25,000 fentanyl pills and 1000 grams of meth in Ketchikan – an estimated $1.7 million worth of the drugs sold on the street.
Hanson appeared before a Ketchikan jury Tuesday and Superior Court Judge Daniel Doty found him guilty of four felony counts of possession – three for possessing meth and fentanyl with the intent to sell or make more of it and one for possessing a firearm as a felon. Hanson also faces an “aggravator,” which usually results in a stricter sentence because he imported the fentanyl from out of the state.
Hanson could face up to 55 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for early July.
