HONOLULU — Law enforcement officials in Hawaii are charging a Kauai councilman and 11 others with crimes including conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine.
In a statement released Thursday, the Kauai police department said they worked with federal agencies to secure a federal indictment against Kauai County Councilmember Arthur Brun and 11 other people.
The suspects are part of “a major drug trafficking organization that has been supplying a significant amount of methamphetamine throughout the community,” Police Chief Todd Raybuck said in a statement. He said they face felony charges of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and other crimes.
Officials did not name the 11 others that are being charged. The indictment was not immediately available Thursday, officials said.
Kauai police and federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security and others scheduled a news conference Friday to discuss the charges.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice was unable to confirm if Brun had an attorney. A spokeswoman for the Kauai police department was also unsure if Brun had a lawyer. A call to Kauai mayor’s office seeking further details on Brun’s status with the county was not immediately returned.
Brun did not immediately respond to an email and did not answer his office phone number on Thursday.