KAILUA-KONA — At least one holiday package won’t make it under the tree.
KAILUA-KONA — At least one holiday package won’t make it under the tree.
A parcel containing about six pounds of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, was intercepted Thursday by the Hawaii Police Department Airport Task Force at Kona International Airport. The 2,800.4 grams of the drug bound for an address in Kona has an estimated street value around $280,000.
“That’s a major, major haul,” said Capt. Chad Basque, who oversees the department’s Criminal Investigations Section under which Vice falls. “Someone who’s sent that package has to be very upset and whoever is receiving it is probably pretty worried.”
Basque declined to comment on whether suspects had been identified on Friday, noting a full update would be available early next week when Lt. Sherry Bird, who heads VICE, returns to the island. He said leads are developing.
Unlike other cases, such as in December 2014 when police already had information on suspects and were awaiting the arrival of two people known to be carrying methamphetamine, this package was found during normal screening procedures by the task force, he said. It was among many parcels being shipped commercially that are checked at airports, harbors and mail shipping facilities by the unit’s canine.
Police said after the dog displayed a positive alert of narcotics in the package, officers secured a search warrant and recovered six pounds of the drug.
“That dog worked hard that day,” Basque said.
Basque said that officers “occasionally” come across packages in the mail containing narcotics, but “I wish we could find more.”
According to the federal Department of Justice’s Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area 2011 Drug Market Analysis, the most recent report available online, all five police agencies in the state, including the Hawaii Police Department, reported that ice is the “greatest drug threat” in their jurisdictions. According to the report, in 2010, more than 125 pounds of ice, carrying a street value of nearly $7 million, was seized.
The police department encourages community members to report any information about the illegal importation, distribution and possession of narcotics by calling the Vice/Drug Tip Hotlines at 329-ZERO-ICE (329-0423) for information pertaining to the districts of Kaʻu, Kona, North and South Kohala, 934-VICE (934-8423) for information pertaining to the districts of Puna, North and South Hilo, and Hamakua, or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.