BIG ISLAND RAIDS GO AFTER HARD DRUGS

HILO, Hawai'i -- Big Island police and state and federal agents raided eight
suspected drug houses and arrested 21 people in Hilo and Puna yesterday in a
crackdown dubbed "Operation Meltdown."

Authorities seized a total of nearly a pound of cocaine and more than 1/2
pound of crystal methamphetamine during the series of raids, which began
about 7 a.m., police said.

Three rifles along with three handguns also were seized during Operation
Meltdown.

Hawai'i County Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna said the raids were meant to
demonstrate that police are responding to complaints by residents about drug
dealers in their neighborhoods.

"Maybe this will give the citizens the feeling that we don't spend all of
our time harvesting marijuana, because we don't," Mahuna said.

Big Island police have been criticized for devoting its work force and
helicopters to high-profile efforts to track down and arrest marijuana
growers, while critics have long argued that methamphetamine and cocaine are
much more serious problems on the Big Island.

Mahuna said the raids were inspired in part by a summit held last year to
discuss the Big Island's problem with crystal meth, or "ice." A number of
speakers attending that gathering in Kona expressed frustration that police
did not appear to be doing enough to combat ice trafficking.

Mahuna, who gave his word yesterday that police will respond to citizen
complaints, said the raids mark the beginning of better coordination between
Big Island police and state and federal authorities.

"Hopefully the iceberg will continue to melt in this county," Mahuna said.

The police chief said six months of planning went into the raids on the
suspected drug houses, including a number of houses that were identified by
citizen complaints.

Joining in the operation were officers from the Big Island, Kaua'i and Maui
police departments as well as state Narcotics Enforcement Division officers
and federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs
Service.

The largest drug seizures yesterday came during raids on houses in rural
Puna subdivisions. Thirteen ounces of cocaine -- almost the entire haul for
the day -- was seized during a raid on a house in the Ainaloa Estates
subdivision, and 10 ounces of methamphetamine was seized from one home in
Hawaiian Beaches, said acting Lt. Marshall Kanehailua.

The Puna homes raided included two in Hawaiian Beaches, two in 'Ainaloa, one
in Kea'au and one in Kurtistown. The remaining two homes were in Hilo.

In one particularly dramatic morning raid on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo,
authorities used a light armored vehicle from an anti-drug unit of the
Hawai'i National Guard. The armored vehicle was used because authorities
believed that the people in the house might pose a threat to police,
Kanehailua said.

Also seized in the raids were a car in which drugs were discovered; 34
marijuana plants; 7 ounces of dried marijuana; and various types of
prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia. Police also seized more than
$6,000 in cash.

Kanehailua declined to say whether the 21 people who were arrested all
remained in police custody last night, or whether some had been released.
Police also arrested five adults on bench warrants unrelated to the raids.