Alaska's Great Drug War

Alaska’s Great Drug War

by Willis H. Fowler Jr.

Copyright 2012 willis h.fowler jr.

Smashwords Edition

This a work of fiction, names, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincident

ISBN: 9781476419404

CHAPTER ONE

An Outing in the Alaska Wilderness

At four in the morning, a four-wheel drive pick-up with a road trailer loaded with two ATVs pulled into the south end of the trailhead. Two men jumped out and started undoing the tight-downs and removed the two ATVs, drove them to each side of the pick-up and started loading supplies.

Both the ATVs were Suzuki King Quad 285s, four-wheel drive, camouflage green in color, with rear tires chained, a fifteen hundred pound Warn winch installed, a CB radio, and a Magellan GPS navigation system mounted.

Each ATV had an Action Packer cargo box u-bolted to the front rack with a two and one half gallon container of gasoline secured to each side of the box. The box was loaded with food snacks, water, thermos jugs of coffee, tools, ball peen hammers, rain gear, wrenching stakes, nylon straps, bungee cords, army type entrenching tool, bug juice, and other items that might be needed quickly on the trail.

The rear rack of the ATVs also had a large cargo box mounted. Each box was filled with a gallon of water for coffee and cooking, skillet, pots, food, sleeping bag with air pad, extra clothing, boots, a pillow, and other items that might be needed.

Each man had a waterproof duffle bag, which contained a pup tent, a low cot, and a folding chair, which would be strapped to the top of the cargo box. There was one Coleman gas stove for the two men.

Each man had a shoulder holster with a revolver and a gun boot attached to their ATV with a 30-06 rifle loaded with 220 grains bullet cartridges. In Alaska most outdoorsmen were armed for black and grizzly bears in the boonies. Also, they had binoculars hanging from their necks and a hunting knife on their belts.

Ten minutes after the two men arrived at the trailhead, a pick-up and a van, both with a road trailer loaded with ATVs and a meat trailer, a four-foot square trailer with over sized all terrain tires, pulled into the parking lot. The two vehicles with two men each, parked in the middle of the parking lot and started unloading. There were three quads and an eight-wheel Argo with super tracks. This machine could go anywhere and would pull the meat trailer.

About fifteen minutes later another pick-up went to the north end, parked, and started unloading equipment.

A casual observer would never notice the three parties were together. He might see the men working in a precision military manner at trailhead lot, which was a popular ATV spot in the summer and snow machines in the winter.

After all three groups were ready for the trail; the CBs were checked to be sure all radios were on channel 27. The first two men had a call sign of Adam, the four man team was Bobby, and the last two men were Clarence. After the CBs were checked, each party conducted a walk about to insure nothing was left on the ground, autos were locked and nothing electric was left on to drain the battery. When these people returned, they did not want any delays in reloading and getting the hell out.

After all this the CBs came alive, Adam on the move. If there were no reply, the two men left the trailhead and started up the trail. In fifteen minutes the four-man team removed the plywood top from the meat trailer. There was a six inch foam pad and blankets on the floor. The men removed an object from the van and placed it in the trailer, covered it, replaced the top and strapped it down.

Fifteen minutes after Adam team left, Bobby would leave, and in another fifteen minutes Clarence would depart. Adam was the lead and scout team. Their job was to be on the alert and if they happened to run into Alaska State Troopers or Game and Fish would call the rear teams and let them know. Clarence would be in the rear of the movement and if they were passed by anyone suspicious, they would notify Bobby.

Due to limitation of the Argos they could only go around eight miles per hour. They had no shock absorbers and were rough riding, especially, on rutted trails, and rock beds. At this speed, they would be passed many times.

This trail was challenging with mud holes, swamps, and small rivers to cross. Each ATV had a tow-rope. Only the Argo with tracks could safely run this trail. The quads could be turned over. For this reason the convoy had scheduled check points to call each other so as to maintain their interval.

They were going in twenty-five miles on their first leg. After, a period of time to accomplish their mission, the team would go another ten miles to camp out, cook, drink a little, fish, and appears to be a bunch of friends enjoying a nice outdoor outing. The ATVs had their GPSs on and tuned to a ‘Go To’ mode at a predetermined location.

On the way the ATVs got stuck several times but between the winches and tow-ropes, it posed very little concern. Every man on the team was an excellent ATV driver. Around eleven o’clock in the morning, Adam reached their destination. They called Bobby on the CB and continued up the river for one mile to watch for travelers coming down. Bobby, the middle group, stopped at their location, and the rear guard stopped about a mile downstream to watch for traffic going upstream.

The middle group went through a small patch of woods to a sandy spot where part of the river ran. The four men put on light ski-type face masks, latex gloves, removed their boots and put on old sneakers. They took the top off the meat trailer and removed an object. It was a thirty year old black male with duct tape over his mouth, nylon straps on his feet, and hands. The man was stood up, the duct tape was removed, the and strap bounding his feet was cut off.

The man, visually shaken and scared said. Who are you and what do you want? I got money, I can pay. He was given a bottle of water and a large Milky Way. He grabbed the water, drank about one half of it, tore off the candy wrapper, ate it and finished the water.

One of the masked men stepped forward and said. We have some questions for you. If you give us the right answers you might just survive this, but if you don’t, you are in for a world of hurt. What are your name, occupation, street name, and gang? The four men already knew this information. He was a dope dealer with a long record of assault, armed robbery, and a suspect in four homicides, which were never proved. He was a bad dude.

The man said. My name is Tommy Jones, I work at the Redtop Bar as a bouncer, and I do not belong to a gang.

One of the masked men stepped forward, drawing his revolver and shot the bad guy in the knee. The wounded man fell to the ground, screaming. Oh God, please help me! As he lay on the ground, another man stepped in and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. They placed the man, still sobbing with pain in a sitting position.

One of the masked men holding up a syringe then said, Now, Mr. Thomas Jones, street name Big Tom, gang banger, and drug dealer, if you will cooperate, we will give you something for the pain.

The injured man said, Yes, yes, please, just stop it from hurting!

Jones started talking. He gave information on everything asked of him; names, dates, locations, suppliers and gangs.

Then the masked man asked, One last question, who was involved in the shooting of the mother and daughter about four months ago?

The man looked up and said, I don’t know nothing about that. There was a short pause and he looked at the men. You guys are… POW, a three-fifty-seven bullet entered his brain.

The men dug a hole and placed the bad guy in and covered him with sand. The men searched the area for any evidence and using cut off brush, removed all tracks. They called Adam and told them the deed was over and headed their way. The scout team had cut down two small spruce trees with a Homelite chain saw and would drag them behind their ATVs to remove tire tracks.

The four-man team went down the river for about a mile, dug a hole in the sand, removed their clothing and shoes, poured gasoline on the stuff and lit it. They replaced their clothing and boots. After the stuff was burned, they filled the hole.

They went down the river to the China Wall Trail and followed it to the Red Fox Trail. They followed that trail to the Tyrone River and to find a good camp site for the night.

It was the caribou calving season and there were thousands of the animals in the area. By this time all eight ATVs were moving as a group. They took their time and enjoyed the ride. They reach the camp, located on a hill above the Tyrone River Valley. They unloaded their rigs and set up their tents and started supper. Hot dogs and chili were on the menu, washed down with ice cold beer. After supper, they watched the caribou feeding all over the place. There wasn’t anything said about the day. The teams had been up since two a.m. and were tired. They turned in for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning they got up and fixed breakfast, coffee, eggs, and bacon. Most of the caribou had left the area. They broke camp, loaded the ATVs and headed out to the trailhead.

The caribou herd had moved about five miles to the Nelchina River. The team motored up and over Monument Mountain and on to the trailhead. They loaded the equipment and went back to Anchorage.

CHAPTER TWO

What is right?

{Seven Months Before}

Captain Bob Miller woke up that Friday morning with a splitting headache and an upset stomach. There was a half glass of whiskey on his nightstand and he knew he had drunk too much last night. He also knew this was getting to be a big problem for him.

He went into the bathroom, dropped two Alka-Seltzer tablets in a glass of water and drank it along with three aspirin tablets as he shaved. Captain Miller had been with the Anchorage Police Department twenty two years. He had started as a patrolman and worked his way up the ranks. He had been happy with the job of police work until a couple years ago. He had made captain and was placed in charge of the Narcotics Division. At first he was happy with the job but as time went by, he came to realize that narcotics crimes had gotten out of hand and the police were losing ground all the time. There was too much money in drugs and the police department couldn’t keep up with it. Money could buy judges, cops, lawyers and lawmakers. Meanwhile, drugs were ruining people’s lives. He himself had lost his wife and two kids through divorce because of the job and drugs. He hadn’t heard from his kids in years and he didn’t have any idea where they were living or if they were even alive.

Captain Miller realized that he was a burned out cop with a drinking problem. So far he had stayed off the booze on duty but it was only a matter of time. He was already thinking of suicide. He could retire but what then, eat his pistol? He knew he needed help with his problem but also realized he couldn’t afford to pay for it and if he went to the department and used his health insurance, his career was over.

If it wasn’t for his annual September moose hunting trip with some close friends, his summer ATV trips, fall caribou hunting, and hold-em poker, life, the way it was now wouldn’t be worth it.

Captain Miller finished dressing and left for work. He stopped at MacDonald’s, went through the drive-thru and picked up two egg, sausage biscuits and a large cup of black coffee. This was his usual breakfast. Lunch would be a Carl’s Jr. cheese burger of some type. Dinner would be at Denny’s or he would order a pizza from home after a few beers before he started on the hard stuff.

He finished his breakfast and drank one half his coffee before he reach the police department parking lot. Beings he was a Captain, he had his own parking spot. He thought. Rank does have it privileges. He parked and with his remaining coffee, he went to his office to start his workday.

Capt. Miller filled his McDonalds cup from the coffee pot, grabbed a couple frosted donuts and sit down at his desk. His first action was to review the report of his afternoon and midnight shift narcotics squads; consisting of a lieutenant, two defectives, two sergeants, and four men under each sergeant. There were five arrests. He noted the names of the arrestees. He then checked the jailed and released list. Three of the five had made bail and were released before the night squad got off duty this morning. God, what is this world coming to. Miller reached into his desk drawer, grabs his Tums bottle, took three Tums and washed them down with a big sip of coffee. Jesus, this day was getting off to a bad start.

His next action was to go over the department afternoon and midnight shift report of arrests and incidents including traffic. He was looking for people who his narcotics division was interested in tracking down and talking to.

When he had first taking over command of the narcotics division, the whole division had spent two weeks looking for a high level drug supplier. The man, as it turned out was servicing 30 days at the Cook Inlet Jail for his third DUI (driving while under the influences). Capt. Miller was embarrassed and really felt stupid.

He next called the three hospitals in Anchorage about drugs overdoses five people. None died, but he got the names and addresses. His detectives would contact the people and try to find the drug dealers names.

Around eleven AM he called for his driver and car. Miller reached the street and Officer Brown was waiting in the car. Morning chief, how is your day going?

Captain Miller replied, Like shit, as usual, Officer Brown, you turd head. Brown assumed he was hung over and just let it pass.

Officer Brown was an eighteen year veteran of the Anchorage Police Department. He was a good cop but never seemed to have any desires to advance from the bottom of the pile. He was brave, strong, and good in a fight.

* * *

Miller remembered when they were partners as patrolmen. Brown had been Miller’s partner after he finished his rookie training for a year. They had become friends and worked well with each other. Miller got his corporal stripes and went to a different job. After a while they drifted apart.

A few years back, the department, due to Brown’s age, health, and good record, had assigned him to a desk job at the narcotics division. Captain Miller had just taken over the command and made him his driver. They had renewed their friendship, regardless of their status in the department. Brown was a good man and Miller enjoyed his company.

Captain Miller remembered when they were partners; they were called to a barroom fight. Upon arriving and entering the bar they saw six men engaging in fisticuffs; feet, barstools and bottles were going in all directions. The bartender was behind the bar with a baseball bat, shouting for the drunks to stop, but they were having too much fun. Miller reached for his hand held radio to call for backup, two men couldn’t stop this fight without using firearms and someone getting seriously hurt. Brown placed his hand on Miller’s hand. No need, partner, we can handle this. While Miller watched, Brown, with nightstick in hand waded in, swinging and kicking, and men starting falling to the floor screaming in pain and it was all over in seconds. Miller stood there in awe, having never seen anything like this in his police career. He decided, Officer Brown was a keeper. Yes, Brown was brave, strong, and good in any type trouble. Over the years, he had been awarded many citations.

* * *

Miller directed his driver to go to Spenard, an area where a lot of drug activity went on. Brown said. Right Chief, can I grab a cup of coffee? I’ll pop for a cup for you. The driver knew the Captain would say yes and also the Captain would buy lunch. Brown pulled into the first McDonalds and picked up two large cups.

As they drove into the area, Officer Brown suddenly said, Jesus, Chief, look at that, selling drugs out in the open in broad daylight. Shall we arrest the perverts?"

Captain Miller saw two young men on the passenger side, taking money and handing over what could be drugs and said. No, you idiot and spend the next six hours processing and writing reports. Miller recognized one of the men. He was a "Confidential Informer (C.I.). The man had been picked up a few months earlier and under the threat of doing some hard time had agreed to give up information for his freedom. The police had given their approval, more or less, for the dealer to continue in his chosen career. He was fairly safe from arrest as long as he cooperated with the narcotics division. What a way to make a living, he thought.

The DEA in the USA had developed the practice of going for the bigger fish. They would pick up a dealer, make a deal with him to roll on his supplier, other dealers, and any other information that would help. Also the DEA could take cash, cars, boats, houses, and other things, acquired from drug sales and transportation. This money and equipment was then used by the agency to fight the war on drugs. Therefore, the law tended to pass over the little dealers in order to get to their big bucks and toys. In fact, the car being driven by Brown was a near new Lincoln taken from a supplier a few months earlier.

Miller thought, we are going at the problem from the wrong end. We should start at the bottom and work our way up. If we could take all the dealers off the streets, the addicts couldn’t buy drugs, the suppliers wouldn’t have dealers to sell to, and the drug cartel couldn’t exist. There would be no money in it. The prisons were now overcrowded, more needed to be built but the cost would be massive and the wheels of government that sees to these matters grind slowly while the priority diminishes in the process.

Ninety percent of the crimes committed were related to drugs, addicts supporting their three to five hundred dollars a day habit, stealing, robbing, mugging, burglary, etc. Then consider gang related actions, shooting, fighting over turfs and competing with each other for the drug market. The problem was huge.

Many a night, Miller, had sat in his Lazy Boy chair with a jug of booze and had thought of a solution. Go to the Aleutian Island Chain, pick an island with steep cliffs all the way around it; no way to land a boat, build some huts for the inmates, dump them there, and supply them with MREs and other supplies when needed. No guards. The inmates would make a life for themselves. A Navy carrier would be around the island with radar, any boat or aircraft entering a five mile zone would be moved out of the area. Miller realized this idea would never work; some judge would declare it cruel and unusual punishment.

Captain Miller suddenly thought of a plan that might work, at least in his area of responsibility. The more he thought, the more he liked the idea. Of course, it would be risky and he couldn’t do it by himself, but if he had the right help, it could be successful. He started planning the operation right there in the car. The most challenging part would be recruiting the proper men. Mentally, he started compiling a list of people that might join him. They in turn might think of other people, plus they would have ideas that could be worked into the plan.

Officer Brown said, Where to Chief? Looking at his watch he continued, It’s getting close to lunch time.

Captain Miller, checking his watch, "Go to Carl’s Jr’s. We can pick up a bite to eat and get back to the office