Anchorage police nabbed a California man Wednesday who tried to pickup a package containing a kilogram of cocaine and a half-kilogram of heroin at a local hotel, a police spokeswoman said.
The man, 27-year-old Markee Allen, is charged in federal court with attempting to possess drugs with the intent to distribute them. The cocaine and heroin, bought at the wholesale level for an estimated $151,000, was worth about $400,000 if it had been broken up and sold on the street, Anchorage police said in a written statement Thursday.
According to the charging document filed in federal court, employees of the Motel 6 on A Street told police that a guest -- Allen -- had received two boxes mailed to him at the motel. Allen checked out sometime prior to Wednesday, but another box arrived for him that day, according to the charges.
"A short time later, Allen returned to the motel and checked back in as a guest and attempted to receive the box at the front desk," the charges say.
That's when officers with the Anchorage Police Department's Special Assignments Unit contacted Allen, the charges say. A police dog indicated the package held drugs, and the officers ultimately got warrants to search the box and Allen himself, as well as his cellphone, room and vehicle, according to the charges.
After he was read his rights, Allen agreed to talk to the officers.
"Allen stated, in substance, he was attempting to pick up the FedEx box, which he stated contained a kilo of cocaine and heroin. Allen stated this was the third parcel he had been sent that contained illegal drugs that he had received," the charges say.
But it was a kilo of powder cocaine and just less than a half-kilo of heroin the officers found in the box, the charges say. In Allen's room and on his person they found a total of $6,000 cash and -- the charges do not say where, specifically -- a .44-caliber handgun, according to the charging document.
"Allen stated he requested and received the firearm from an associate in Anchorage as a form of protection while he was in Alaska," the charges say.
Allen was held at the Anchorage jail.
Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4343. Twitter updates: twitter.com/kcgrove.
By CASEY GROVE