Savoonga woman charged with drug, alcohol importation

A Savoonga woman was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 20 after authorities found her in possession of 119 blue “M30” Fentanyl pills and alcohol, after she checked in at Bering Air for a flight to Savoonga.

According to a press release from the Alaska State Troopers, Melissa Dawn Kava, 44, was arrested for Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances in the second and fifth degree, and Import Alcohol Dry Area. Savoonga is a local option community which has banned the importation of alcoholic beverages.

According to charging documents, troopers conducted a routine screening of passenger luggage at Bering Air for alcohol and narcotics. Kava admitted that she had a bottle of alcohol in her tote as well as oxycodone pills for which she had no prescription.

The investigator observed small blue pills imprinted with M30 in the prescription pill bottle that Kava removed from her coat pocket. Kava stated that there were 90 and that she bought them in Anchorage for $3,600 in total, or $30 a piece, suggesting that the count is 120.

The investigator noted that the street value of the pills known as “dirty 30s” is $120 per pill, or $10,800 total.

According to court documents, the quantity of pills was consistent with the intent to distribute, although Kava stated they were just for personal use.

While authentic oxycodone pills are blue and have the M30 markings, counterfeit M30 pills look similar but may contain fentanyl. According to the DEA, counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl can be deadly. A lethal dose of fentanyl is about two milligrams, equivalent in size to a few grains of salt. Fentanyl overdose may result in stupor, changes in pupillary size, cold and clammy skin, cyanosis, coma, and respiratory failure leading to death. Twenty-six percent of tablets tested in a DEA laboratory contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Troopers also found a 750 ml bottle of Crown Royal whiskey in Kava’s luggage.

Kava was remanded to Anvil Mountain Correctional Center and had her felony first appearance in court on Dec. 22. The court set bail at $2,000 and conditions of release, and assigned a public defender to represent Kava.

Bail was posted.