Feds offer $10K reward for info on alleged Anchorage meth dealer
Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The FBI in Alaska is offering up a $10,000 reward for details that lead federal authorities to an alleged meth dealer.
On Monday, federal officials said in a statement that Esthepen Delossantos Pebenito, 50, was wanted by authorities for alleged involvement in a scheme to distribute methamphetamine in 2019 in the Anchorage area.
At roughly 5'4 with black hair and tattoos on his back and abdomen, he also goes by "Pepe" or "Stephen Pebenito," according to the bureau.
He is considered to be armed, dangerous and is tagged as an "escape risk."
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Pebenito in July 2021 by Alaska's U.S. district court after he was charged with a federal crime of distribution of controlled substances.
FBI officials added that "Pepe" has ties that extend beyond the Anchorage region of the state to California, Nevada, Hawaii and to south-east Asia in the Philippines.
Results of a 2021 study suggested that rates of fatal U.S. overdoses via methamphetamine increased five-fold from 2011 to 2018. The use of naloxone to administer life-saving medicine to people who overdose on opioids has saved thousands of American lives.
Federal officials' fight against meth in Alaska is nothing new. In 2013 a 25-year-old Anchorage man was arrested and charged after it was discovered he received over four pounds in the mail of meth after police located another 117 grams, $8,478 in cash, around a half-ounce of marijuana and two guns.
The 2021 study highlighted that the highest number of overdose deaths among racial or other ethnic groups was seen in the Alaskan and American Native population, which had a 25% increase at the time.
The extra initiative to catch Pebenito is being implemented as part of a nationwide summertime effort to crack down on violent crime.
"By surging resources alongside state and local partners, executing federal warrants on violent criminals and fugitives, and dismantling violent gangs nationwide," the bureau said in its statement, "we are aggressively restoring safety in our communities across the country."
Any individual with information on Esthepen Pebenito is urged to call the FBI's Anchorage field office in south-central Alaska at: (907) 276-4441, or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324). An anonymous online tip can be submitted, or a person may contact a local FBI field office or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
His FBI wanted poster can be viewed along with a full list of others wanted by federal authorities for various crimes.
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