Crime & Courts

APD: Dayslong sweep nets more than 40 arrests, over 6 pounds of drugs worth $1.5 million

A crime sweep spanning several days that involved around 90 officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies resulted in over 40 arrests and the seizure of more than $1 million worth of drugs, police say.

Preliminary results show that authorities recovered 11 firearms including one automatic, five stolen vehicles, and more than $3,000 during what police have named Operation Summer Heat.

Forty-two arrests have been made so far -- police say they expect more later -- and 5 pounds of heroin and about a pound of methamphetamine were confiscated. The drugs are worth about $1.5 million, according to Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim.

The operation began July 10, with most of the crime sweep lasting about two days, according to Lt. Jack Carson, operation commander.

“A lot of our focus for this operation was violent offenders,” Carson said. He said this included individuals with a “significant criminal history” that have “shown a pattern for committing crime and would have committed crime again in the future.”

Police officers spent a lot of their day going between calls, Carson said. Because the joint operation provided about 90 additional officers, he said the group was able “to go out and hunt down crime.”

The effort also targeted homes, parking lots and businesses where community members said crime was a problem, Carson said.

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Many of the arrests reported by police involved people with outstanding warrants. The U.S. Marshals brought up a team from the Lower 48 and targeted individuals with active felony warrants, he said.

Police are still looking for one suspect: 27-year-old Tommie L. Snyder is wanted on a felony warrant for eluding and failure to stop. Snyder is described as 6 feet tall and 225 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was the driver of a 1985 Ford Crown Victoria reported stolen July 10, police said earlier.

During the operation, Anchorage police worked with partners including the Alaska State Troopers, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions, Department of Homeland Security, Alaska Department of Corrections and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

Jeff Parrott

Jeff Parrott is a former general assignment reporter for Anchorage Daily News. He graduated with a master's degree in 2019 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and is a former U.S. Army officer.

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