Police arrested 26-year-old Jose Alberto Prado, a California resident, and charged him Saturday with first-degree promotion of dangerous drugs and illegal possession of drug paraphernalia. Prado is being held in a Hilo police cellblock in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Officers were holding another man, Cliefas Armenta of Honomu, pending further investigation.

Officers from the East Hawai'i Ice Task Force and Vice Section, agents from the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. DEA, state Department of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, state Narcotics Enforcement Department and the Hawai'i Army National Guard's counterdrug program worked together on the case.

Capt. Samuel Thomas, head of the East Hawai'i Criminal Investigation Division, said ice is usually sold in one-tenth of a gram increments. The drugs seized in this case amounts to 9,493.85 grams, he said.

"This arrest and drug seizure should notify drug dealers that the Hawai'i County Police Department will not tolerate the trafficking of illegal drugs on the Big Island," Thomas said.

Acting on a tip received from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officers seized a 1995 Ford van at Hilo Harbor. The van had been shipped to the island.

The officers obtained a search warrant, and on July 28, discovered a compartment under the floor of the right front passenger's seat. In the compartment, they recovered more than 20 pounds of crystal methamphetamine.

According to the police:

After finding the drugs, the officers set up surveillance. On Aug. 12, Prado picked up the van.

Officers maintained surveillance on the van and Prado. Prado apparently became suspicious and parked the van in the parking lot of a Hilo mall and left it. At 5:20 p.m. Friday, officers arrested Prado on Banyan Drive in Hilo.

Last year U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said that 95 percent to 98 percent of the drugs consumed in Hawai'i are imported.

Crystal methamphetamine and other drugs get into the state a variety of ways. Drugs are packed into suitcases, coolers, packages and other forms of checked luggage. They are strapped to the bodies of couriers who board planes bound for the Islands.

Varying quantities of the drug are sent through the mail and through private shippers.

Law-enforcement authorities say Hawai'i consumes more crystal methamphetamine per-capita than any other state.

Drugs are often shipped to the Big Island or Kaua'i in large quantities, before being broken down into smaller increments and brought to Honolulu, police say.

Last October an investigation broke up five ice rings in Hawai'i and led to the arrest of nearly 50 people. One group hollowed out a hydraulic lift, stuffed it with drugs or money, and shipped it back and forth between Hawai'i and their Mainland supplier, according to the U.S. attorney's office.