A Savoonga woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for her role in a drug trafficking case. Federal investigators say Michelle Pungowiyi, 51, tried to receive thousands of fentanyl pills at a P.O. box on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentence on Friday.
Investigators first identified a suspicious package addressed to Pungowiyi in December 2022. With a federal search warrant, law enforcement opened the parcel and found more than 3,000 pills containing illicit fentanyl, a powerful opioid and painkiller.
A few weeks later, investigators intercepted another package addressed to Pungowiyi at the same P.O. box. A second search warrant found more than 4,000 additional fentanyl pills, prosecutors said.
Pungowiyi was charged with three counts of possession and intent to distribute the illicit drug in 2023. She initially pleaded not guilty, then changed her plea in January after agreeing to a deal with prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Scott Bradford, said in a press release that the 7,000 fentanyl pills were “enough to potentially kill the entire village population eight times over.”
Health authorities have found that fentanyl contributed to 73% of overdose deaths in Alaska in 2024. That same year, 339 Alaskans died from overdoses.
Investigators identified a third parcel in February 2023 but were unable to stop it before it was delivered to Savoonga on Feb. 13. Prosecutors said text messages showed Pungowiyi was in contact with the alleged leader of the drug trafficking organization.
Investigators believe an inmate in California, Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, used contraband cell phones to orchestrate the operation.
More than 60 people have been charged in connection with a broader investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Alaska State Troopers.
