(Credit: Nancy Heise)

It’s not uncommon for the Tustumena ferry to get held up on its trips through the Aleutian Chain. Usually, it’s due to rough weather or mechanical issues. But this Sunday, the Tustumena spent some extra time in Sand Point so local police could investigate alleged drug smuggling.

Officer Eric Tupper says he got a tip from a ferry employee while the vessel was still on its way into port.

"Somebody on board was seen with what appeared to be a plastic bag with a white powder in it," Tupper says. 

This isn’t the first time that Sand Point police have gotten tips about ferry passengers allegedly moving drugs into the community. But that information usually gets to officers after the fact.

In this instance, Tupper says he was able to board the ferry as soon as it arrived in Sand Point. He met up with two passengers who had been flagged as suspicious and searched by ferry system staff. (That's allowed under the Alaska Marine Highway System's ticket policy.)

Tupper didn't find anything suspect, but he did ask a third passenger to step off the ferry for questioning. That woman was carrying a mixed vial of pills in her luggage. With help from the local clinic, police determined that the prescriptions were valid.

"So it ended up being [that] we didn’t find any drugs," Tupper says. "But we take any clue about drugs very seriously because of the drug problem. We’re going to investigate it as seriously as we can, and take every step we can to make sure that drugs aren’t coming [in]. And I think that we did that successfully."

The Tustumena continued on its way this weekend, but it didn’t take long before the ferry was sidetracked again.

The Tusty was called Monday morning to tow a distressed fishing vessel to safety near Kodiak, according to KMXT. The ferry came down with its own mechanical problems not long after. Upcoming trips from Seldovia to Kodiak have been canceled.