Anchorage hotel owners accused of turning property into drug den

An Anchorage, Alaska man and woman were arrested after being indicted for allegedly using a hotel as a front for selling drugs, according to prosecutors.

Court documents allege that beginning in October 2020, Kyoung Seo, 62, an owner of the Chelsea Inn Hotel, and Chantel Fields, 36, conspired with others to use the property for distributing and using controlled substances, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.

Investigators say Fields stored and distributed drugs at the hotel, directed buyers to dealers living on site, and controlled access by enforcing a $20 “door fee.”

The FBI and Anchorage Police Department began investigating the Chelsea Inn Hotel in 2020 after receiving reports of drug trafficking involving residents, employees, and visitors.

Anchorage Police Department records show more than 1,000 emergency calls for service to the Chelsea Inn Hotel since 2020. Many of those calls involved violent crime, domestic disputes, and drug-related incidents, including homicides and fatal and non-fatal overdoses.

On Aug. 22, law enforcement executed search warrants at the hotel and two residences, seizing 11 firearms, including two found behind the front desk, thousands of rounds of ammunition, “substantial” amounts of suspected drugs, and about $45,000 in cash.

The FBI also executed a seizure warrant for the hotel property, and the U.S. Marshals Service took custody of the building.

Seo and Fields were arrested on Friday and are charged with one count of conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved premises. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.