Anchorage man sentenced to 50 years for kidnapping and drug trafficking

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The United States Attorney’s Office District of Alaska says a man from Anchorage was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison for kidnapping and drug trafficking.

Law enforcement said in a Thursday press release that 35-year-old Macauther “Mac” Vaifanua was charged in the crimes that date back from 2015 to his arrest in 2017.

According to officials, Vaifanua pleaded guilty to federal kidnapping and drug trafficking charges in March 2020.

Related: UPDATE: Third suspect arrested in Anchorage dog kennel attempted murder case

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Vaifanua and his brother, 31-year-old Faamanu “Junior” Vaifanua, distributed heroin in the Anchorage area through a victim, who they later kidnapped, between January 2015 and August 2017.

The pair, along with Jeffrey Ahvan, 33, Rex Faumui, 28, and Tamole Lauina, 25, were arrested between August 2017 and August 2018 for the role they played in violently beating and imprisoning a 34-year-old man inside a dog cage.

“This was not a random act of violence but a calculated act of savagery against another human being and a complete disregard for human life,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson, District of Alaska, in the press release. “Mr. Vaifanua will serve the next five decades in federal prison where there is no possibility of parole. The citizens of Alaska will not tolerate drug trafficking and the violence that is an integral part of that activity. We will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure justice is served.”

Faamanu Vaifanua, Ahvan, Faumui and Lauina are currently in custody awaiting their separate hearings.

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