A Sitka man is in federal custody following his arrest for drug trafficking.

37-year old Nathaniel Marc Harris was arrested by US Postal Inspectors and US Drug Enforcement Agency agents near ANB Harbor in Sitka on March 19. He allegedly had obtained 168 grams of methamphetamine in a package mailed to him earlier that day.

According to the Addiction Center, the street value of meth ranges from $20 to $60 per gram, or up to $10,000 for the 168 grams allegedly acquired by Harris.

The priority mail package was sent on March 11 from an address in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to an affidavit from the DEA, it came under suspicion since it was mailed from an area known for drug trafficking, the sender paid the $50 postage in cash, and the name of the sender could not be associated with the return address.

A federal judge issued a search warrant on March 17, and the package was intercepted by Postal Inspectors and DEA agents in the Sitka Post Office. They reportedly found 168 grams of a white crystalline powder vacuum sealed inside some clothes. Agents removed all but a “representative sample” of the suspected drug from the parcel, installed tracking devices inside it, and waited for Harris to pick it up.

According to the affidavit, Harris arrived at the Post Office shortly before 11 a.m. on March 19 to pick up the package, which he then took aboard the fishing vessel “Moonlight” moored at ANB Harbor. Agents observed Harris return to the harbor parking lot with the box and throw it in a trash can. He was then arrested by federal agents, assisted by Sitka Police and Alaska State Troopers. According to the affidavit, Harris’s hands “bore evidence that he had handled the internal contents of the subject parcel.”

Harris was charged with Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual Methamphetamine, and Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute — both felony offenses under United States Code.

Harris was transported to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau pending his next hearing in US District Court.