Man, 50, charged with moving meth between Oahu and Maui
Federal prosecutors want a 50-year-old Maui man held without bail after he allegedly smuggled pounds of methamphetamine between Oahu and Maui using Mokulele Airlines.
Frank William Keliihanui Kane Jr. of Lahaina was charged Monday by federal criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a firearms and ammunition, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Since March, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and officers with the Maui Police Department have been investigating Kane for the 'distribution of crystal methamphetamine ' on Maui, according to a complaint filed Monday.
'Multiple sources of information provided intelligence ' that Kane smuggled 'pound quantities ' of crystal methamphetamine from Oahu to Maui on Mokulele flights, according to an affidavit authored by a DEA agent.
Kane is scheduled for a detention hearing today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aislinn K. Affinito is prosecuting the case.
On May 9, federal agents secured a search warrant to use global positioning system technology to track Kane's mobile phone.
On May 16, federal agents tracked Kane's movements from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport until he arrived at Kahului Airport.
Kane was watched by law enforcement as a friend picked him at the curb and took him home.
Kane was later seen picked up by a brown To yota Tacoma and driven to a park in Kahului. There Kane got out and met a man on a bicycle, and an exchange took place, according to court documents.
Kane was later seen driving his white Tacoma to a gym to lift weights. When he left the gym, he was pulled over on Honoapiilani Highway near Kapoli Street in Wailuku.
Kane was ordered to get out of the car and told that he was the subject of an 'ongoing narcotics investigation.'
Kane then signed two MPD forms waiving his right to an attorney and allowing police and federal agents to search his person, vehicle, bags within the vehicle, digital devices and home.
Before the searches, Kane allegedly admitted that he had a camouflage duffel bag in the truck that contained several ounces of cocaine, two 'ghost ' guns and ammunition.
He also told law enforcement officers that there was a black duffel bag in the truck that contained a pound of crystal methamphetamine.
Police and federal agents seized the two bags and found a little more than a pound of methamphetamine, 171.78 grams of cocaine and a digital scale.
A 9mm ghost gun handgun with two loaded magazines and a ghost gun rifle with two magazines and 100 rounds of ammunition were also found.
In March 2021, Kane was awaiting trial for habitually operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant when he was arrested again for habitual impaired driving and was ordered by a judge not to drive and to wear a device to continuously monitor alcohol in his system, according to The Maui News.
Kane has convictions in 2007, 2011 and 2021 for habitual operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and was sentenced to over one year of imprisonment.
He has a lifetime revocation of his driver's license.
He has three prior felony convictions and 33 prior convictions in state court dating back to 1997. They include five misdemeanor convictions for cruelty to animals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
ICE detains over 100 in one of Florida's largest immigration raids
More than 100 people were detained in one of Florida's largest single-day immigration raids at a Tallahassee construction site on May 29 in what was described as a panicked scene with some law enforcement wearing face coverings and camouflage. Homeland Security Investigations, which operates under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Florida Highway Patrol and other Florida and federal law enforcement agencies conducted the immigration raids at a student housing development site in the College Town neighborhood by Florida State University. Another construction site nearby was raided an hour earlier, worker Michael Martinez told the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network. Officers reportedly checked every individual's identification and permits before releasing or arresting them. The Department of Homeland Security said on social media that authorities had "arrested more than 100 illegal aliens, some of which were previously deported and others with criminal backgrounds," calling it "a targeted enforcement operation." People detained in a bus told reporters at the scene they were from Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Honduras, while officials said others detained were from Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. The raids come as President Donald Trump's administration touts its crackdown on migrants who enter the country illegally, expanding arrests nationwide while driving down border crossings. ICE agents have begun detaining people who show up for mandatory court appearances about their immigration cases. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have pushed the state to become the "toughest" on illegal immigration in the country this year, enacting laws and directing hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local law enforcement to expand the state's authority to detain and house undocumented immigrants to comply with Trump's mass deportation mandate. ICE and Florida law enforcement arrested 1,120 people in April during "Operation Tidal Wave," the largest joint immigration operation in Florida history. The operation lasted six days, from April 21 through April 26. In the last month, ICE raids have also rattled Nashville, where nearly 200 people were arrested in a weeklong operation, according to the Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. In northern Nevada, more than 50 were arrested in Reno, Carson City and Tahoe earlier in May and most have been deported, the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Florida is currently appealing a federal judge's decision to temporarily block a new law creating state crimes for undocumented immigrants entering or re-entering Florida. The raid was likely the largest single illegal immigration sweep in Florida since DeSantis agreed to join in on Trump's aggressive mass deportation agenda. Here's what we know about the ICE raids in Tallahassee, Florida: Law enforcement officers detained more than 100 people at a construction site near the Florida State University campus. One detainee, 43-year-old Juan Carlos Hernandez, told the USA TODAY Network-Florida he didn't know where the group was being taken. Hernandez said he did not have a criminal record, and he said others on the bus had asylum cases. "I'm sad," he said. "It's not the time or the moment for us to leave." Many of the construction workers were in bright yellow shirts and jeans – work clothes. Some didn't have any money on them, Hernandez said, others were worried about their family members who they would be leaving behind. Some of those detained were handcuffed, while others were zip-tied. They were led into the back of white school buses with no air conditioning on a day where the feels-like temperature was 86 degrees. Pedro Arroliga, 30, held up his residency card and said he came from Nicaragua and has been a resident for two years. He said federal agents checked him inside the gate of the construction site and said he was OK to go, but then he was taken and put on the bus. Martinez, the worker from the other job site nearby, said agents came and raided his construction site about an hour earlier. People were fleeing and only a few got caught. 'It's just crazy how they're doing this,' Martinez said. Caity Salter, a recent Florida State University graduate, stood behind a fence with other FSU students watching the scene unfold. "Some of the people, the construction workers, (were in) zip ties and they were in a line ... and it was just very disturbing to see that," she said. Ray D'Amico, general superintendent for the plumbing contractor at the construction site, watched his employees, who were zip-tied and waiting to be processed by federal agents. Once word got out about the raid, he said, other construction sites in town stopped for the day and workers went home. Videos of laborers getting tackled to the ground by agents at 9 a.m. spread quickly, and by noon, many of Tallahassee's construction sites were silent. "This is infuriating. This is absolutely ridiculous," D'Amico said. To locate detainees who are 18 or older and in ICE custody for more than 48 hours, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website has an online detainee locator system. Click here for ICE inmate search According to ICE, you don't have to provide any information about yourself or create an account to use the system, but the system collects information including your internet domain, IP address and the internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the ODLS website. However, ICE says the information is not used to identify or track users and isn't used in immigration enforcement activities. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY Network-Florida; Antonio Fins and Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ICE detains over 100 people in one of Florida's largest raids
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
12-year-old boy last seen driving in KCMO reported missing: KCPD
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Police Department says a 12-year-old boy is missing today, June 11. Man charged in connection with death of Platte County sports reporter shot on I-29 KCPD says that the boy, Kolton Conchola, was last seen driving a silver Toyota Tacoma in the 3700 block of Northeast 43rd Street in Kansas City, Missouri, today. KCPD included that he stands around five feet tall and weighs around 86 pounds. The Tacoma has license plates 6CFD47, KCPD says. The boy's family is reportedly concerned for his safety and well-being. If you have any information on the boy's whereabouts, contact KCPD missing persons at 816-234-5043 or call 911. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
A scam that targeted elderly victims collected more than $11 million. An Arcadia woman pleaded guilty
A San Gabriel Valley woman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Tuesday for her involvement in a scheme that garnered more than $11 million from as many as 180 victims across the United States. Cynthia Song, 43, from Arcadia was arrested in October 2024 by federal authorities and has been in federal custody since, according to a release by the U.S. Department of Justice. For a little under two years, Song worked with a network of co-conspirators to target mainly elderly victims and scam them into sending money to multiple bank accounts in the Los Angeles area, according to authorities. The co-conspirators who contacted the victims worked overseas, impersonating government officials, law enforcement and customer support services. The posers tricked victims with fake threats, like demanding payments to avoid legal consequences and potential computer issues, according to the Department of Justice. The money was sent to bank accounts in the Los Angeles area, controlled by Song and other conspirators she had recruited. It was then immediately sent overseas — mainly to China, the release said. More than 180 victims sent funds to these bank accounts. The payments demanded from victims ranged from $1,000 to $400,000. Once the money was sent overseas, it could not be recovered even after the victim reported the fraud to authorities, according to prosecutors. Read more: Criminal ring with SoCal ties swindled $25 million in COVID relief, small business loans, feds say To take part in the money laundering ring, the release said that Song recruited around 15 people living in the Los Angeles area, mostly of Chinese descent and some who were in the country unlawfully. The recruits were tasked with creating business entities and opening bank accounts, as well as transferring victim payments. Song also trained the recruits to deceive banks from uncovering the fraudulent accounts, according to the release. Documentation from the victims taken by the scammers was used to provide faulty verification for the "large and suspicious wire transfers from victims," the release said. Song and others participating in the scheme took around 5% to 10% of the payments received, before the money was sent overseas, according to prosecutors. Song's next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16, when she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years and must pay restitution to her victims, according to the release. Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigations were investigating the case, the release said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
