North Slope Borough police seized 12 bottles of liquor from two residents of Kaktovik, a dry Inupiat village, the department said.
On Tuesday, a North Slope Borough police officer stopped 20-year-old Michelle Kayotuk and 32-year-old Daniel Gordon in Prudhoe Bay, both were traveling to Kaktovik on a commercial airline. Police searched their carry-on luggage and found 11 bottles of Rich and Rare whiskey and one bottle of Bacardi rum, alcohol with a street value of $1,800, the department said in an email statement Wednesday.
The two were charged with violating the Importation of an Alcoholic Beverage into a Local Option Area statute, a misdemeanor, and face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
In 1989, residents voted to ban the sale, importation and possession of alcoholic beverages in Kaktovik, a village about 600 miles north of Anchorage on the shores of the Arctic Ocean.
Police encouraged citizens to assist the department in its "Healthy Communities" campaign and report the illegal use or sale of drugs and alcohol in Alaska villages to police.
"With this effort, together we can stop the illegal sale of alcohol or drugs," the department said.
Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.
By TEGAN HANLON