Three men arrested by federal agents for allegedly running cocaine, methamphetamine and gambling operations on Oahu and Maui will stand trial in November while federal agents and Maui police continue to look for a fourth man who remains at large.

Maliu Tauheluhelu, 37, of Waianae is the alleged leader of the group, coordinating cocaine and methamphetamine distribution, illegal game rooms and online gambling applications on Maui and Oahu. His alleged co-conspirators on Maui are Maafu Pani, 37, Touanga Niu, 21, and Desmond Morris, 38.

Tauheluhelu was arrested June 3 on Oahu. Pani and Niu also were arrested that day on Maui. Morris, a Maui man who has been arrested or cited on more than 50 occasions, continues to evade capture, according to Maui police.

Tauheluhelu, Pani and Niu are scheduled to stand trial starting at 9 a.m. Nov. 14 before U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake.

In a motion to declare the case complex, heard Tuesday morning by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield, assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Smith pointed out that the case involves four men who are “charged with a drug trafficking conspiracy, multiple substantive drug trafficking offenses, a conspiracy to operate illegal gambling businesses, a money laundering conspiracy, and a firearm offense.”

“This case falls squarely within the definition of a complex matter: the charges in this case arise out of a long-term investigation involving multiple federal law enforcement agencies; the investigation included multiple Title III wiretap interceptions; the discovery is voluminous; and four defendants are charged in 14 separate counts relating to drug trafficking, illegal gambling, money laundering, and firearms. The volume of discovery, moreover, has only increased: law enforcement executed search warrants at multiple locations on and after the day Tauheluhelu, Pani and Niu were arrested,” wrote Smith. “For these reasons, the case should be declared complex.”

A complex case designation provides prosecutors and defense attorneys ample time to share and review discovery and amends the timetable to comply with the federal right to a speedy trial through a court-approved agreement.

Tauheluhelu, Pani and Niu, through their attorneys, Sean Fitzsimmons, Melinda K. Yamaga and Randall K. Hironaka, did not object to Smith’s motion to declare the case complex.

For more than four years Tauheluhelu’s crew allegedly used burner mobile phones purchased in other people’s names to communicate and coordinate cocaine and methamphetamine shipments from the mainland to Oahu and Maui, according to federal court documents.

The alleged scheme also involved recruiting young people to bypass Transportation Security Administration screening sites by allegedly flying Mokulele Airlines to carry money and drugs between Oahu and Maui.

Tauheluhelu operated illegal game rooms at 980 Queen St. in Honolulu, behind a snack shop at 975 Queen St. and in a secret VIP lounge above his Staxx Sports Bar and Grill restaurant in Waianae, according to a motion to detain Tauheluhelu and Pani.

The group allegedly used a series of gambling applications that allowed players to play digital games from anywhere after buying credits that could be redeemed for cash.

Pani allegedly sold drugs and ran an illegal gambling business out of his Snaxx shops in Lahaina and Wailuku. Federal agents and Maui police seized seven guns, two untraceable ghost guns, a crossbow, 15 pounds of methamphetamine, 2 pounds of cocaine, 20 digital gambling machines, gambling ledgers, $68,000 in cash and a money counter during the execution of 14 search warrants Friday.

Firearms allegedly belonging to Pani were a loaded .25-caliber Beretta handgun, a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun and a Remington 20-gauge shotgun. On April 22, surveillance footage captured images of three men handling what appeared to be an AR-15-style rifle in the driveway of Tauheluhelu’s Waianae home. Investigators recovered a ghost gun from Tauheluhelu’s Staxx VIP lounge and a ghost gun from his house.

On June 3, more than 50 FBI agents and Maui police served search warrants and arrested the trio as part of “Operation Faikava.”

The charges stem from a long-term investigation conducted by the FBI and task force officers with the Maui Police Department, with assistance provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to court documents.