AIRPORT DRUG BUSTS SURGE

Tighter Security Results In 30 Arrests And The Seizure Of $273,000 In Drugs
Since Sept. 11

Increased Honolulu Airport security in the first six months since Sept. 11
has dramatically increased the number of arrests of people carrying drugs.

Six months before Sept. 11, airport drug busts consisted of two arrests and
a little less than $200 in street drugs seized.

Six months after Sept. 11, random searches of carry-ons and body pat-downs
have resulted in 30 arrests and the seizure of an estimated $273,000 worth
of illegal drugs.

Ed Howard, acting supervisor for the state Narcotics Enforcement Division,
said that includes about a half-dozen cases where security personnel said
they found drugs left on the terminal floor, usually somewhere before a
passenger gets too close to a security checkpoint or airline gate security
stations.

"We conclude that maybe people drop them so they don't get caught."

Apparently, some people take too long in making up their mind. "One guy they
busted was still clenching a packet of 'ice' (crystal methamphetamine) in
his hand." Other drug-carrying air travelers make a little more effort in
getting that illegal carry-on past security. State arrest logs show security
personnel catching people with packets of cocaine shoved down their shorts,
marijuana joints in their wallets and "ice" in tin breath-mint containers.

Other cases involved a man taping magic mushrooms and marijuana to his
underwear. Howard said another man used masking tape to "mold" two pounds of
"ice" to fit around his body under his clothes.

"It was almost like how a bulletproof vest fits," said Howard.

While most arrests are for what Howard describes as "drug user" amounts,
some are more substantial and fall into the "drug distributor" category. In
the bulletproof vest case, federal prosecutors charged former Big Island
resident Wayne Halemano with "drug possession with the intent to
distribute."

According to federal documents, Halemano had come in through Dallas and Los
Angeles airports before being pulled aside for a random check in Honolulu.

"He (Halemano) actually told us we did a lot more security checks here,"
Howard said.

Howard said most of the post-Sept. 11 body-carry drug busts take place at
the interisland terminal, though there have been some busts at the domestic
and international terminals. While state narcotics agents and state sheriffs
make the arrests and process the cases, Howard said the initial busts are
thanks to private security firms who handled Honolulu Airport security prior
to the Federal Aviation Administration taking over last month.

"The guys at ITS, Wackenhut, AKAL, they've all done an excellent job," he
said.

Honolulu police said that last year there were an estimated 101 drug cases
at the airport. But that number includes drugs found in parcels and not just
on someone's person.

"UPS, Fed Ex, the U.S. Postal Service ... there's a lot of drugs coming in
through this state," said HPD Maj. Darryl Perry of the Narcotics/Vice
Section. "About 60 percent is body carry, 40 percent in parcels ... but
that's just the people that get caught.

"We don't know what the real percentage is."

Drugs seized since Sept. 11 include more than 800 grams of "ice," 132 grams
of marijuana, 57 grams of cocaine and 34 grams of psilocybin or "magic"
mushrooms.

Overall, Perry said, airport drug busts last year resulted in roughly $9.6
million in drugs, guns and vehicles being seized, including 48 pounds of
cocaine, 40 pounds of "ice," 35 pounds of marijuana, eight pounds of heroin
and 290 pills of LSD, ecstasy and other various barbiturates.

Perry also said that while airport security continues to make drug busts
there, police are looking at other ways that drugs could come into the
state, particularly within the maritime community.

"We're looking at cruise ships, barges -- it's an ideal way to get drugs
in," he said. "It's all about saving families and keeping drugs off the
streets."