'ICE' TARGETED ON BIG ISLAND

HILO (AP) -- Big Island police have stepped up their crackdown on crystal
methamphetamine.

Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna said police have made more crystal meth-related
arrests this year than in all of 2002.

There have been more than 300 arrests for possessing or selling crystal
methamphetamine, commonly known as ''ice,'' since January, compared with 216
last year, he said. The increase coincides with an increase in the number of
tips police have received from the public about drug dealers.

There has been a fivefold increase in calls from the public about drug
houses since authorities announced a campaign of raids in January, said
Mahuna.

The problem of crystal methamphetamine has become pervasive on the Big
Island, particularly in rural communities.