‘Significant amount of firearms’ is seized
Twenty-two guns seized in a raid on a suspected drug dealer's house in Ewa Beach were on display yesterday at police headquarters on Alapai Street.
Police and prosecutors say the seizure of 22 guns, half an ounce of methamphetamine and four grams of marijuana from the Ewa Beach home of a suspected drug dealer is a good example of how the public can help clean up their communities.
"This case signifies the importance of why we have to enforce the drug laws," Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro said, noting that there is a strong correlation between drugs and violence.
The weapons recovered included a MAC-11 machine pistol and a TEC-9 semiautomatic handgun. Also confiscated were shotguns, carbines, rifles, revolvers and other semiautomatics, said Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha. Two of the weapons were reported stolen, and two were loaded, he said.
"This is a significant amount of firearms," Kealoha said.
WHOM TO CALL» If you believe there might be drug activity in your neighborhood, contact the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics/Vice Division at 529-3101 or at honolulupd.org.
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"If you look at the weapons, the firepower that they seized in this one house, it tells a scary story," Kaneshiro said.
Also recovered were six high-capacity gun magazines, a stolen motorcycle and a vehicle, he said.
The meth had a street value of nearly $5,000, while the marijuana could have sold for $400, Kealoha said.
Police seized the guns and drugs during a raid yesterday morning.
A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing stolen property and numerous firearm violations.
Police described him as a suspected drug dealer and said he has a criminal record.
At a news conference yesterday, Kaneshiro, Kealoha and other officials urged the public to report suspicious activity.
Police Maj. Susan Dowsett of the Narcotics/Vice Division said officers executed a search warrant after receiving numerous complaints from neighbors of suspicious activity coming from the house on Amio Street.
"We really depend on members of the public helping us out," Dowsett said. "They’re our eyes and ears out there. We can’t be everywhere."
Generally, the public should be on the lookout for increased traffic, a significant amount of people coming and going for short periods of time, an assortment of vehicles and people who might seem out of character in a neighborhood, Dowsett said.
