DEA BOLSTERS ITS ALASKA PRESENCE

DRUGS: Agency Upgrades Anchorage To District Office.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is beefing up its presence in
Alaska to crack down on the increasing flow of illicit drugs into the state
and to curb the illegal substances being manufactured here.

The DEA upgraded its Anchorage resident office to a district office in June
- -- the first step in a long-term plan that includes upgrading a Fairbanks
post and opening bureaus in Juneau and the Mat-Su Borough.

"We were unstaffed for a while, and we're stepping up to the plate on
that," said Zoran Yankovich, who was promoted in June to assistant special
agent in charge of the new office. "We're showing that we care about places
in rural America."

The DEA is the premier agency for domestic enforcement of federal drug laws
and has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug
investigations abroad, according to its Web site.

Yankovich, a 15-year veteran of the DEA, cited increased drug activity as a
primary reason the agency is putting more resources in Alaska. Hard numbers
were not available Tuesday, as Yankovich was traveling.

"Seizures have increased over the years," Yankovich said. "Most of the
(illicit) drugs found here are imported except marijuana."

Drug trends in Alaska are no different than in the Lower 48, "except Alaska
is the end of the road," Yankovich said. "We're a consumer state."

Another thing that propelled the upgrade of the Anchorage office is that
the DEA gets a lot of cooperation from federal, state and local agencies in
Alaska. "That is a big plus," Yankovich said. "I think that helped the DEA
in making up their mind."

Anchorage Police Patrol Captain Audie Holloway said agencies in Alaska
"work very well together." He worked closely with the DEA from 1996 to 2002
as commander of the Metropolitan Drug Unit.

"We realize that since we're so removed ... we have to work together," he
said. "None of us have the total capabilities to do this on our own."

Holloway was glad to hear the DEA was expanding in Alaska. "We certainly
could use it," he said. "We have a much bigger drug problem up here than
people seem to realize."

Holloway said the DEA helps with investigations by offering equipment,
expertise, strategies and sometimes, prosecution in federal court, where
sentences tend to be more severe than in state courts.

And, Holloway added: "Having the DEA take a firm stand on marijuana keeps
this state from going overboard on being too lenient on our marijuana laws."