HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
HILO VICE SECTION
DETECTIVE MARSHALL K. KANEHAILUA
PHONE: 961-2340
FEBRUARY 15, 2002
MEDIA RELEASE
Big Island vice officers confiscated 13,725 marijuana plants ranging in height from seedlings to six feet during a five-day operation that ended Friday (February 15, 2001).
Big Island vice officers were joined in the operation by personnel from the Honolulu, Maui and Kauai county police departments, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii National Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
During the sweep, officers ran across one of the most sophisticated marijuana growing operations encountered in recent years. On Thursday, the officers found a large growing operation at the 6,500-foot level that utilized a water catchment and irrigation system. They confiscated 8,066 marijuana plants ranging in height from two to four feet.
This week’s marijuana sweep — which covered areas of Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo, Puna, Ka’u and South Kona — was part of the department’s continuing “Counter-Cannabis Field Operation.”
The operation concentrated on the areas of Kukuihaele in Hamakua; Hakalau and Ookala in North Hilo; Papaikou in South Hilo; Keaau, Orchidland, Hawaiian Acres, Vacationland, Leilani Estates, Seaview Estates, Kalapana, Eden Roc and Kapoho in Puna; Pahala in Ka’u; and Honmalino in South Kona.
No booby traps and no arrests were made during the sweep.
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