Hotel guest charged in crystal meth case

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A woman who asked employees at the front desk of a Waikiki hotel to hold a piece of luggage for her for two weeks is facing federal drug charges after the employees became suspicious, opened the suitcase and found clear plastic bags containing a crystalline substance, according to a federal agent's statement.

The statement by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent filed in federal court in connection with the charges against Jean Smith said the hotel employees called the Honolulu Police Department, which determined the plastic bags contained crystal methamphetamine.

Smith had checked into the unnamed hotel on May 27, vacated the room on May 31 without checking out and asked the front desk employees to hold the luggage while she was out of town, according to the statement.

After Smith had left her room, cleaning crew members found items commonly associated with a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory including a powdery substance, a bottle of bleach, a can of butane gas, a Pyrex container, contact cement, acetone and plastic baggies, according to the statement.

Members of HPD's Clandestine Laboratory Response Team contacted DEA officials and Smith was arrested when she returned to the Waikiki hotel, according to the statement.