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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 8, 2008

No-contest plea in tie to drug ring

Advertiser Staff

WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui woman pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges she helped her husband in a drug-trafficking ring.

Ohia Aniban, 34, will be sentenced Oct. 16 for criminal conspiracy and two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.

As part of a plea agreement, four other charges were dropped, and defense and prosecution attorneys will recommend that Aniban be sentenced to five years' probation. However, prosecutors also may seek up to six months in jail.

Aniban's husband, Patrick, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years imprisonment and a four-year mandatory minimum term on 10 charges that included criminal conspiracy and first-degree methamphetamine trafficking.

During a Jan. 19, 2007, raid on the couple's Kahului home, police recovered 18.5 pounds of cocaine and 6 pounds of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $1.5 million and $114,000 in cash. Authorities said it was the largest drug seizure in county history.