The Kaua‘i Police Department Vice Squad had one of their busiest weeks on record last week. Between Friday, August 27 and Tuesday, September 7, the unit served eight search warrants, arresting a number of Kaua‘i residents, and taking over a
The Kaua‘i Police Department Vice Squad had one of their busiest weeks on record last week.
Between Friday, August 27 and Tuesday, September 7, the unit served eight search warrants, arresting a number of Kaua‘i residents, and taking over a thousand hits of crystal methamphetamine off the street, KPD officials announced yesterday.
Almost $50,000 in cash, as well as over 50 grams of marijuana and 100 ml of anabolic steroids and two cars were seized, police said.
“The more drug dealers that we bust, the less crime will probably occur,” said KPD Interim Chief K.C. Lum yesterday. “The public is completely changing their perspective.”
One of the reasons for the acceleration in ice arrests, Lum said, is the close- knit Vice Squad, that has been “working as a family.”
“We actually got a very polished team,” Lum said in his office at KPD headquarters. “They have the same philosophy, the same goals. They’re looking out for each other, and they’re unselfish.”
The squad, Lum said, has been willing to put in long hours, from near sunrise to after sunset some days to make a difference in the amount of drugs on Kaua‘i.
“How many people are willing to do that?” he asked. “In my entire career, I’ve never seen a group that efficient as this team is working right now.”
“They create their own initiatives” the interim chief said. “They take it and run. It’s that efficient.”
But one Vice officer, who requested his name be withheld, said it’s the whole department that deserves the credit.
“The patrol guys really helped us,” he said. “Every case had somebody from patrol helping us out.”
Lum added that KPD couldn’t do it without information from the public that’s flowing in.
He said that to keep the momentum of recent busts alive, he asks that residents call police with information about drug dealers and areas.
“Now information (from the public) keeps coming because they can see the results,” Lum said. “The more you see it, the more people come forward.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Vice division at 241-1878 or Crime Stoppers at 241-1887 “You can never get enough information,” the chief added. The warrants were served in Hanama‘ulu, Puhi Koloa, and a Lihu‘e hotel, officials said, with 108.6 grams of ice, 58.8 grams of marijuana, and $44,235 seized. “They are doing a fantastic job,” Lum said of the Vice officers. “Hopefully, (we can) put some more officers in there, depending on manpower resources.”
Kaua‘i residents arrested in the busts were:
Delia J. Panoncillo, 46, of Hanama‘ulu, for third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia;
Jeanette R. Carvalho, 38, of Lihu‘e, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug;
Helen Q. Mattingly, 52, of Lihu‘e, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possession of drug paraphernalia;
Doreen M. Caberto, 30, of Koloa, for third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia; David G. Texeira II, 26, of Lihu‘e, for first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and third-degree promotion of and dangerous drug;
Lori M. Tamayose, 35, of Kapa‘a, for second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, second-degree promotion of a detrimental drug;
Wilma M. C. Meyer. 34, of Anahola, for second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, third-degree promotion of a dangerousdrug, second-degree promotion of a detrimental drug.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 226).
