A Keaau couple facing federal drug charges have allegedly admitted to authorities that they distribute fentanyl.
According to the complaint, 51-year-old Shannon Carreira, aka Shannon Souza, and 34-year-old Roxanne Schwery were arrested July 20 after picking up a parcel at a private mailbox business in Pahoa.
The pair face three charges: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; and attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The document states the priority mail parcel was flagged as suspicious by the U.S. Postal Service, and the Hawaii Police Department obtained a state search warrant.
The parcel, according to the document, contained blue pills containing 325 grams of fentanyl, plus white powder that contained 71 grams of fentanyl — for a total of 0.87 pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid drug.
The drug was replaced by a similar amount of “pseudo-fentanyl” and a “controlled delivery” was made to the business, the document states.
Officers conducted surveillance at the business, according to the document, and saw Carreira pull into a parking stall fronting the building with Schwery as the front-seat passenger.
After the parcel was picked up, police then followed Carreira and Schwery to a 14th Avenue home in Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision, and later obtained a search warrant on the residence.
According to the complaint, the search turned up about 160 grams of powdered fentanyl, digital scales with fentanyl residue, various quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin, $9,833 in cash and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia.
Both Carreira and Schwery allegedly waived their constitutional rights to silence and to an attorney and talked to officers.
Schwery allegedly told police she distributes fentanyl to support her drug habit. She also reportedly said she and Carreira paid a third party to send the large quantity of fentanyl to them.
Carreira allegedly told officers he and Schwery paid for the subject parcel, to be sold for profit, and both agreed that the contents didn’t appear to be what they had ordered.
He also admitted the fentanyl recovered in the bedroom he shared with Schwery was both for sale and for Schwery’s personal use.
The pair made their initial appearances Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. They were each granted a federal public defender.
They have a hearing at 10:30 a.m. today before Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield on a motion to detain them without bail.
They also have a preliminary hearing set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 8 before Magistrate Judge Rom Trader.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.