Posted on: Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Three held after 'ice' found in FedEx box

Advertiser Staff

HILO, Hawai'i — Three Big Island men are in custody after police and federal drug agents discovered a pound of crystal methamphetamine Monday at the FedEx office at Hilo International Airport.

The three suspects, ages 24, 19 and 38, were arrested at a home in Puna, and were being held in a police cellblock yesterday. The investigation by police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration continues, said Capt. James Day of the Hawai'i County Police Department.

The crystal methamphetamine was found during normal police narcotics scanning of parcels shipped to the Big Island, Day said. A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to a package and a search warrant was obtained. Officers found 472 grams of "ice" in the package, with an estimated street value of $35,000, he said.

The officers then delivered the parcel to a residence on Lehua Street in Fern Acres. When an individual at the residence accepted the shipment, the officers served a search warrant and found 236 marijuana plants growing on the property, Day said.