Hawaii police target fentanyl smugglers with intercepted drug packages

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii police officers have stepped up efforts to keep fentanyl from coming onto the island in recent years.

Hawaii News Now was able to ride with HPD’s Area II Vice Unit as they tracked a package that had about four ounces of fentanyl inside.

The suspect picked up the Postal Service package that had been intercepted by law enforcement days prior.

The man was driving a Toyota Tundra through parts of Waimea when officers pulled him over in a subdivision.

“He had marijuana on the seat,” said one of the undercover officers.

They also recovered a pipe in the man’s pocket.

He was arrested, but we are not identifying him because he was not charged on the day of the arrest.

The USPS Large Flat Rate box that officers were tracking was also in the truck.

“This particular shipment came directly from the West Coast,” said Captain Edwin Buyten of the Hawaii Police Department.

At the Waimea station, officers held a debrief on the operation and showed Hawaii News Now what else was inside the box.

A desktop fan, a book, and children’s toys were all items used to conceal the powdered fentanyl.

The actual drugs had already been replaced with baking powder after the package was intercepted. It was repacked so as not to alert the suspect.

While four ounces of powdered fentanyl isn’t a major recovery, Buyten said it’s still enough to harm dozens of people.

“We’ve seen it, take their life.”

Buyten said the vice unit does operations almost weekly to take dangerous drugs off the streets.

The Big Island was the only county that showed a decrease in drug overdose deaths in 2023.

According to HIDTA, in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking areas, there were 32 deaths, compared with 34 the year prior.

While that was only a slight drop, Hawaii was the only county that bucked the trend. Overall, the state saw a rise of 6%, with Maui County showing the biggest jump.

Fentanyl is increasingly responsible for the statewide drug-related death numbers.

“The price is so cheap,” said Gary Yabuta, Executive Director of Hawaii HIDTA.

Hawaii County Police say other ways the drugs are getting onto the Big Island in cargo containers and passengers carrying fentanyl on them when they fly. Other operations are done to catch those smugglers as well.

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