3 Canadians arrested after illegally entering the US by boat with firearms and narcotics

FORT YUKON, Alaska (KTUU) – Three people from Canada were taken into custody Friday after reports emerged that one of them sold drugs in a Yukon community that led to an overdose.

According to a Department of Public Safety report, officers with the Alaska State Troopers' Fairbanks Rural Unit received a tip that the drug dealer and two other people were on a boat en route from Old Crow, Yukon, Canada to Fort Yukon.

The three occupants were only identified as a 41-year-old, a 50-year-old and a 24-year-old. The river they were traveling on was not identified by police, but it is the Porcupine River, which flows between the two cities.

Officials believe the boat's occupants suspected there were narcotics in the river before they were stopped by a village police officer near Fort Yukon. A search warrant had been issued allowing Alaska law enforcement officers to examine the boat and its contents.

Officers discovered the boat contained drug paraphernalia, two firearms and ammunition, and three dead black ducks. Later interviews revealed that the ducks had been captured in Canada and brought across the border illegally.

The three occupants of the boat entered the United States illegally. The investigation into the incident, which involves multiple charges including human smuggling, is ongoing.

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