United States Drug Enforcement Administration

In a separate conspiracy, Tuimalealiifano, an inmate at Halawa Correctional Facility, had Navy Kapeli pick up a pound of methamphetamine and deliver it to Keliikuli, a guard at the prison.  Keliikuli then brought the methamphetamine into the prison where it was seized by investigators.

If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years for the drug charges and a maximum of life imprisonment, plus a term of supervised release.  Jardine also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for the gun charge.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  In the case of conviction, any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge based on the statutory sentencing factors and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Coast Guard Investigative Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, Honolulu Police Department, and Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeannette Graviss is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.  HSTF Hawaii comprises agents and officers from ICE-HSI, FBI, ATF, CBP, CGIS, DCIS, DEA, DSS, IRS-CI, NCIS, USMS, USPIS and HHIDTA with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.