4 in alleged heroin ring to appear in court today

Four men facing charges related to allegedly conspiring to distribute heroin in Hawaii are scheduled to appear in federal court today.

A detention hearing is set for James Jesse Perez (also known as “Sergio” LNU), Justin Kaahu, Maurice Johnson and Tevita Mailei, with their preliminary hearing scheduled for March 28.

On March 5, police officers of the South Gate, Calif., Police Department coordinated with a Drug Enforcement Agency Honolulu District task force in seizing approximately 10.5 grams of heroin from Mailei’s suitcases at Los Angeles International Airport, where he tried to check his suitcases at a Hawaiian Airlines counter, according to a court document.

The task force said heroin “was fashioned into a sheet in the shape of the contours of the suitcases and concealed beneath a false bottom in the luggage.”

The task force had been investigating alleged drug transactions involving Mailei and the others since 2015. According to a court document, Kaahu ran the drug operation under Perez.

Between October 2015 and November 2016, an undercover officer bought about 134 grams of heroin and more than 700 (30 mg) pills of Oxycodone from Kaahu, documents show.

Conducting surveillance in February, officers also seized heroin from two people who purchased it from Kaahu on two separate occasions at the Town Center of Mililani parking lot, and from Kaahu’s Mililani home, the document states.

During the same month, officers said Perez took a backpack to Kalihi Valley Homes, where he allegedly met Johnson. The court document said a source described Johnson as a “main supplier of heroin” in the public housing complex.

The task force reported it intercepted texts and phone calls between the four men, who allegedly scheduled pickups of drugs from one another to distribute. A Feb. 3 call between Mailei and Perez allegedly was made to arrange for Mailei to pick up a shipment of heroin for Perez.