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The fourth member of an alleged methamphetamine, cocaine and gambling ring that ran drugs and game rooms on Oahu and Maui was arrested late last night by Maui police.
Desmond Morris, 38, had been on the run since a 14-count indictment secured May 19 was unsealed June 3.
“As of 11:45 p.m. last night, Desmond Morris was located and arrested,” said Alana Pico, information and education specialist for the Maui Police Department, in a statement to the Star-Advertiser. “He remains in federal custody.”
Morris was indicted with Maliu Tauheluhelu, 37, of Waianae, the alleged leader of the group, who coordinated 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, and Touanga Niu, 21.
Tauheluhelu was arrested June 3 on Oahu. Pani and Niu also were arrested that day on Maui, part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Maui police operation dubbed “Operation Faikava.”
Tauheluhelu, Pani and Niu are scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 14 before U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake.
For more than four years, Tauheluhelu’s crew allegedly used burner mobile bought 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, methamphetamine and cocaine 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 federal court documents.
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 June 3.
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