Press Release
Wasilla Man Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Heroin Trafficking
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Alaska
Ordered to Forfeit Two Firearms and $5,000 in Cash
Anchorage, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler announced today that a Wasilla man was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason to serve 90 months in federal prison for his role in a heroin trafficking conspiracy.
Baretta Faatafuga, 38, of Wasilla, Alaska, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 1.6 kilograms of heroin throughout the Anchorage area. As part of his plea, Faatafuga admitted that in October 2013 he received an Express Mail package from California containing heroin that had been concealed inside a Sentry Safe. Faatafuga intended to distribute this heroin to others.
Upon his release from prison, Faatafuga will remain under court supervision for five years. The sentence announced today also included an enhancement based upon Faatafuga’s possession of two firearms and a loaded magazine that he had stored in his bedroom. He and his co-defendant also possessed drug packaging materials, a scale, multiple cell phones and laptop computers, as well as $5,000 in cash. Faatafuga agreed to forfeit the guns and the cash as part of his guilty plea.
In sentencing Faatafuga, Judge Gleason called the offense one of serious magnitude. She also commented on the negative impacts caused by bringing drugs into our community and noted that many families are destroyed by heroin. She indicated that Faatafuga’s sentence was designed to address the seriousness of his offense while also protecting the community from future crimes.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Loeffler praised the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Alaska State Troopers, who investigated the case.Updated February 3, 2015
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