Crime & Courts

Anchorage man gets 5 years for trying to traffic meth in Utqiagvik

Anchorage resident Maurice Abad Malabed, 48, was sentenced Thursday in federal court to five years in prison for attempting to sell methamphetamine in Utqiaġvik, formerly Barrow.

Prosecutors said U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason also imposed four years of probation against Malabed, aka "Moe," on a single count of drug conspiracy.

Court documents filed in the case say Malabed contacted someone about trafficking drugs into the North Slope community of about 4,500. What Malabed didn't know is that someone was working with the North Slope Borough Police Department as an informant, according to the documents.

That informant gave Malabed $3,000 to buy 4 ounces of meth from a supplier in California. A package shipped to Alaska was intercepted by federal agents and tied to Malabed through further investigation, prosecutors said.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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