VETERAN KONA OFFICER SETS SIGHTS ON 'ICE' DEALERS

They hunt the predators, the dealers peddling the most addictive of drugs -
crystal methamphetamine or "ice."

"Ice is a very dangerous, violent drug," said vice officer Belinda Kahiwa.
"We spend 95 percent of our time targeting ice dealers."

With the support of federal law enforcement agencies, county police have
been taking down known Big Island "ice houses" for several months in the
ongoing "Operation Meltdown," according to police records.

The pressure has forced dealers to move operations from isolated homes or
rundown neighborhoods, where a single night's sales can total $8,000 or
more, to peddling drugs from cars and homes in upscale neighborhoods, police
said.

"That's part of the reason we need the community's help on this Ice war,"
Kahiwa said. "Ice crosses all social boundaries, all neighborhoods, from the
working - class to the wealthy. It's a community problem and we need the
community's help."

Longtime Kona residents might know Kahiwa from her 22 years of patrol duty
in Kailua - Kona and Captain Cook. But as a Kona vice officer, Kahiwa won't
be as visible - or even recognizable - to old friends and new enemies: ice
dealers.

Born in Kona, raised in Hookena, Milolii and Captain Cook, Kahiwa, 47,
brings invaluable street experience to her new permanent posting in vice,
said Criminal Investigation Section Captain Julian Shiroma.

"She'll have a lot of contacts on the street, people who know her and will
talk to her," Shiroma said.

Plus, Kahiwa's intimate knowledge of neighborhoods, hidden lanes among the
coffee farms and experiences interviewing criminals will help, he said.

"You do get a sense of when someone's telling the truth," Kahiwa said of her
two decades on the street.

A 1973 graduate of Konawaena High School, Kahiwa wanted to be a police
officer since elementary school.

"I just liked the idea of a uniform and the authority," she said.

While on patrol, an officer often "has only seconds to make a decision
whether to arrest someone, or let them go. I loved being on the line. Now I
get to go deeper."

In vice, Kahiwa will investigate arrests and incidents related to illegal
drugs encountered by patrol officers and reported by residents concerned
about unusual activity in their neighborhood.

Some undercover work might be involved "if the other agencies request it,"
she said. "If we find out about an ice house, we'll get to do what we do
best."

And those tasks, she said, include undercover purchases of drugs to
establish reasonable cause for a judge to issue a search warrant,
surveillance and, ultimately, the take down.

For an officer with 22 years street experience responding to calls for help,
the chance to go deep into the minds of ice dealers is a welcome challenge,
Kahiwa said.

"They're predators," she said. "They have just one thing on their mind."

So, too, does Kahiwa.