Alleged crystal meth traffickers arrested

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Five men were indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges of trafficking crystal methamphetamine.

Edward H. Kubo Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawai'i, said all five of the men indicted Wednesday have been arrested by the FBI and the Honolulu Police Department.

They were arraigned in federal court Thursday and all pleaded not guilty, Kubo said. Trial was set for May 7. They are being held at the federal detention center near the airport.

The defendants indicted are: Khan Le, 28; Vinh H. Tran, 24; Roger Rose, 21; Chris H. Tran, 21; and Than H. Tran, 31.

They are accused of trafficking multiple pounds of methamphetamine, also known as "ice," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson, who is handling the case.

That volume means the defendants, if convicted, face a minimum mandatory term of 10 years in federal prison, but could also wind up incarcerated for life, Sorenson said.

The men allegedly were part of a group of Vietnamese nationals who sold drugs in Chinatown from July 2000 to July 2001, he said.

"We really have to do some further investigation," Sorenson said. "We have a large number of folks who are coming forward from other cases who bought from this group."

Their indictments are linked to an earlier investigation conducted by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Honolulu police which generated the indictment of 28 other alleged ice traffickers in federal court last August.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.