PenAir's Seybert tells Dillingham audience he knows his planes are transporting drugs into the region, a problem without an easy solution.
DILLINGHAM: While addressing the Dillingham city council and about a dozen residents last week, Chief Executive of PenAir Danny Seybert spoke frankly about his airline’s role importing heroin to Bristol Bay.
“I am without a doubt the biggest drug runner in the state. I am hauling more drugs than anybody in the state and I don’t like it," said Seybert.
Seybert said he struggles with how PenAir can help cut down the shipment of drugs to Bush Alaska.
Some suggested to Seybert that year-round presence of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, may be a deterrent to the drug trafficking.
Seybert doesn't think so.
“TSA and the federal government, they don’t care about drugs. I’ll be right blunt with your guys. They are looking for guns and bombs and not drugs," he said.
Seybert also added that PenAir itself is limited legally from searching passengers' luggage.
Drug sniffing dogs could be a solution, he said, but there are problems with cost and maintaining certified handlers. Seybert said the King Salmon Airport had success with the use of a drug dog, but it proved too costly to maintain.
The state, or even federal government, should fund the effective anti-trafficking measures, said Seybert.
“I think that is something that the state should help pay for, and we should be getting the Alaska State Troopers more involved in our airports, and with drug sniffing dogs. They are the most effective deterrent that I see.”
He told the audience he will explore training his employees to recognize suspicious behavior from passengers.
Seybert was speaking at the public meeting Friday, at the invitation of the city.
Hannah Colton contributed to this report.