Fentanyl drug recoveries and arrests have increased in East Hawai‘i.
The monthly fentanyl report released by Hawai‘i Island police for April indicated there were six fentanyl-related arrests, five in East Hawai‘i [Area I] and one in West Hawai‘i [Area II].
According to the report, 14.77 grams and 80.5 pills of illicit fentanyl were confiscated in East Hawai‘i. In West Hawai‘i, 127.4 grams were recovered. No pills were found.
That trend of fentanyl in East Hawai‘i seems to be continuing as a Mountain View man was arrested earlier this month after police recovered 132 fentanyl pills and a variety of other illicit substances in his home.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, just two milligrams of illicit fentanyl, equal to a couple of grains of salt, is a lethal dose. The 142.17 total grams of illicit fentanyl recovered by Hawai‘i Police Department in March 2024 was enough to kill over 50,000 Hawai‘i Island residents.
From January to April, 264.61 fentanyl pills were recovered in East Hawai‘i, there were 16 arrests and 334.77 grams of fentanyl powder were confiscated.
During the same timeframe in West Hawai‘i, there were nine arrests, 113.7 fentanyl pills and 228.4 grams of fentanyl powder recovered.
Compared to the same timeframe last year, West Hawai‘i had 16 arrests and recovered 289.38 grams of fentanyl and 546 pills.
In East Hawai‘i, there were 6 arrests and the confiscation of 93.64 grams of fentanyl and 52 pills.
Hawai‘i Island police Lt. Edwin Buyten with Area II Vice Section said it’s not uncommon for arrests and drug recoveries to increase in different districts.
“It’s the strategy of the trafficker to elude police,” Buyten said, adding they will shift where they are bringing in and selling the synthetic opioid based on where arrests are occurring.
In 2023, Buyten said detectives were seeing a lot of people carrying the drug through Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport. In response, an interdiction sergeant specifically ran operations at the airport as well as three narcotic canines that assisted.
“That’s really disrupting the west side,” Buyten said. “I think we’re making a dent,” Buyten said. “Obviously we’d like to cut it off and stop it.”
For fentanyl safety tips, how to recognize fentanyl poisoning, and more, go to HPD’s website: https://www.hawaiipolice.com/services/crime-tips#fentanyl.
Anyone with information related to illicit drug use and distribution, as well as vice issues such as prostitution, gambling, and other related crimes, call East Hawaiʻi and West Hawaiʻi Vice Sections 24-hour anonymous vice/drug tip hotline.
(808) 329-“ZERO-ICE” 808-329-0423 — Information pertaining to districts of Kaʻū, Kona, South Kohala, and North Kohala.
(808) 934-“VICE” 808-934-8423— Information pertaining to districts of Puna, South Hilo, North Hilo, and Hāmākua.
