4 men indicted for ‘sophisticated’ scheme to move large amounts of crystal meth to Oahu, Maui

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Four men have been indicted in connection with an elaborate scheme to move large amounts of crystal meth into Oahu and Maui, FBI and law enforcement officials announced Monday in a news conference on Maui.

The individuals charged in the indictment were:

• Maliu Tauheluhelu, 37;
• Maafu Pani, 37;
• Touanga Niu, 21;
• and Desmond Morris, 38, who remains at large.

According to the indictment, Tauheluhelu ― the lead defendant ― “led a criminal organization that distributed methamphetamine and cocaine and operated illegal gambling businesses” within Hawaii, said Ken Sorenson, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii.

The men are facing drug trafficking, illegal firearms, gambling and money laundering offenses.

“The indictment charges a long-running and sophisticated scheme to move large amounts of crystal methamphetamine from the mainland into Oahu and also into Maui and to launder the proceeds of their illicit drug business,” Sorenson added, at a news conference.

“The organization also generated income from a widespread illegal gambling operation.”

On Friday, Hawaii News Now reported on a raid on a suspected illegal game room in Kakaako. The FBI and U.S. Marshals wheeled out large machines, and authorities confirmed that similar raids happened on Maui.

All together, five locations were hit ― Waianae, Downtown Honolulu, Kakaako, Lahaina and Wailuku.

Investigators say they confiscated at least 15 pounds of meth, seven firearms including two untraceable ghost guns, nearly $70,000 in cash and more than 20 illegal gaming machines.

“We’re talking about cases that involve large amounts of narcotics, weapons, and gambling devices. This is a recipe for disaster within any community, and it will not be tolerated in ours, or anywhere within the state of Hawaii,” said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier.

Sorenson said Friday’s operation “was the culmination of long hours of hard work” by federal and state authorities.

“They were investigating a difficult, highly secretive organization that utilized burn phones that they regularly dropped and avoided TSA screening by flying an airline that does not do screening,” Sorenson said.

Authorities say the men flew Mokulele Airlines, which is does not require TSA security checks.

Federal prosecutors are asking that Tauheluhelu and Pani be detained calling them a danger to the community and a flight risk. A similar request will be made against Niu for the same reasons, but that motion has not yet been filed with the court.

All the defendants face anywhere from five years to life in prison if convicted.

People who work near the suspected illegal game rooms are relieved.

“Kind of crazy. Kind of real crazy in fact. I kind of had suspicions for the last couple of weeks,” said Mike Kilby, the property manager of Snaxx Shop Kava in Wailuku, one of the businesses that was raided.

“There’s people who live right above it too, I’m sure they feel a lot safer,” said Spencer Landon, who works near Snaxx Shop. “As far as coming to the shop, I think the shops gonna feel a little safer. You’re not going to have some of those, you know, kind of people hanging around.”

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