Kodiak police made the biggest drug bust in the history of the department Saturday, nabbing an alleged drug distributor and seizing meth and heroin with an estimated street value of $2.2 million, authorities said.
After months of investigation, Eric R. McDaniel, 44, was arrested and charged with second- and third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance — both of which are felonies, said a Kodiak Police Department release. Police seized about 25.3 ounces of methamphetamine and around 1.8 ounces of “high-grade” heroin, police said.
McDaniel has an “extensive” criminal past in Washington state, including charges and convictions for dealing and possessing drugs, police said. A Washington fugitive, McDaniel relocated to Kodiak in December 2013 and established himself as a drug distributor, the statement said.
Drug Enforcement Unit detectives with the KPD started looking into McDaniel’s activities after getting “numerous” Crime Stoppers tips and info from the community, police said. After months of surveillance, search warrants were obtained for McDaniel’s hotel room and his person.
Early Saturday morning, “police were able to lure McDaniel from his room and apprehend him,” the statement said. Police found meth, heroin, a digital scale, packaging material and drug paraphernalia inside, they said. His girlfriend ran away when she saw officers, police said, and charges are pending for her.