DETECTING METH LABS FOCUS OF PRESENTATION

An increasing number of rental properties on-island doubling as
methamphetamine labs prompted U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo yesterday to
explain how to get such tenants evicted and arrested.

Kubo gave the presentation, entitled "Crime & Drugs in Your
Neighborhood - Evictions of Drug Addicts on Rental Properties and
Creating Safe Neighborhoods," at the Kaua'i Marriott.

Roughly two-dozen Realtors and security workers who deal with leased,
rented and for-sale properties attended the event, hosted by Guaranty
and Escrow Services and the Kauai Board of Realtors.

Though Kubo said law enforcement has been putting a "stranglehold" on
the trafficking of methamphetamine, or "ice," he said recent Hawai'i
tragedies demonstrate there is still a strong need to put an end to
the drug.

Specifically, Kubo referenced the Jan. 17 case in which a toddler was
killed after being thrown from a Honolulu overpass, for which O'ahu
resident Matthew Higa has been named a suspect and arrested.

"Throwing a baby off a bridge is a classic sign that meth is still a
problem," Kubo said.

Kubo said to continue with the 7-year decline of the drug's
availability, the public needs to become educated on what constitutes
a meth lab, and learn its associated risks. He credited the decline to
an increase in the drug's cost, stiffer penalties for dealing the drug
and a federal push to put ice dealers behind bars.

Karen Ono, executive officer of the Kauai Board of Realtors, said even
home sellers who unknowingly own a meth lab can be held liable.

"Hawai'i has a seller's disclosure law and sellers need to know
exactly what's going on in their homes," she said. "Although the
Realtor has a seller's disclosure form, it is the seller's
responsibility to complete it."

Ono continued that "sick homes," or homes that have been tainted from
meth labs, are hard to spot because many people don't know what to
look for.

"It could be in your backyard and you wouldn't know," she said.
"Chemicals are in the walls, carpeting, literally everything in the
house."

"If a real estate agent knows there are illegal activities, he or she
needs to disclose it," Ono said. "That is the license law requirement.
If the seller says, 'I don't want to disclose it.' the agent still has
to."

Kubo, who explained that meth labs are highly explosive, said those
who suspect a home is being used as a meth lab should appear to
tenants as though they suspect nothing. He then said upon getting in
one's car to leave, witnesses should remove shoes to help avoid
further contamination.

"But immediately report it," he added.

Kubo also recommended bathing and removing and washing clothes as
quickly as possible.

He also said the Drug Nuisance Abatement Unit has the ability to evict
tenants.

Police Chief Darryl Perry said in the event that officers are called
out for a suspected drug lab, they would immediately secure any
possible methamphetamine labs and to evacuate residents if necessary.

Kaua'i does have a vice section dedicated to narcotics enforcement, as
well as hazardous materials, SWAT response teams and a fire
department, but there aren't Drug Enforcement Agency officers housed
on-island.

Kubo said, however, he is working to remedy that situation.

"We will one day have a DEA presence here," he said. "I've gotten a
promise of that."

The Kauai Police Department and the DEA have worked together on
several busts that have gone through Kubo's office, including
September's $6 million Blue Hole marijuana bust which Kubo brought up
yesterday at the seminar.

"We knew about (Edward) Holland for eight years, he was a former
defendant on probation," Kubo said yesterday, alluding to the Blue
Hole bust. "One day we just happened to have luck of the draw. That's
why I'm thankful to KPD .. boy, they were the bomb on that one."

Kubo added yesterday the bust was the result of "eight to 10 months of
active surveillance," from the DEA, Department of Land and Natural
Resources and the National Guard.

"But the KPD was the point of the spear along with the DEA," he
added.

Though Kubo couldn't comment on specifics regarding methamphetamine
investigations that are underway, he did say he is aware of a group
that is responsible for filling the void left behind from arrested ice
dealers.

The Department of Health reports that even under the best of
circumstances, the toxic atmosphere of meth labs presents a 20 to 30
percent greater health risk if they have been discovered as a result
of fire or explosion.

To report a possible clandestine methamphetamine drug lab, call the
Drug Nuisance Abatement Unit at 1-800-9NO-METH.