Posted on: Thursday, July 1, 2004

Police pose as students, arrest two at Kaiser High

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

Honolulu police used a rarely employed tactic — officers posing as students — to investigate allegations of drug dealing at Kaiser High School, and yesterday the strategy paid off with two arrests.

A 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were arrested behind Kaiser High School for allegedly dealing marijuana, police said yesterday. It was the second time Kaiser students have been arrested for drugs at or near the school in the past year.

After receiving numerous complaints from school officials and residents along Kekupua and Pakala streets, police — with the school's permission — enrolled several undercover officers as students in Kaiser's summer school session, said police Lt. Alan Bluemke.

During the past three weeks the undercover officers made a series of drug buys — mostly on campus — from the boy before and during summer school session, Bluemke said. "We've not used undercover officers on school campuses in a while," Bluemke said. "It's something we'd probably do again in the right circumstances."

Newly elected student body president Sonia Ribao said she was saddened to hear about students being arrested.

"I have a strong opposition to drugs," Ribao said. "I don't know why people do it."

In yesterday's incident, the boy was arrested on six felony counts of dealing marijuana within 750 feet of school grounds and the girl on one felony count for dealing marijuana, Bluemke said.