United States Drug Enforcement Administration

( - HONOLULU) - After a five-day trial in the United States Court in Honolulu, a federal jury found Matthew Zmuda, 29, of Kauai, guilty on January 10, 2014, of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine from January to April 2012, as well as attempting to possess 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.  The jury also found him guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a detectable amount of heroin.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to the evidence presented at trial Zmuda agreed with other individuals to have methamphetamine and heroin sent from California, through a delivery service, to Kauai in February, March, and April 2012.  Zmuda was the intended recipient of 447 grams of methamphetamine seized by law enforcement at the Honolulu International Airport on April 3, 2012, and was addressed to a hotel in Kauai.  He had also arranged to meet at that hotel to receive the methamphetamine and the heroin from the provider.

Zmuda faces up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum 20 year term of imprisonment when he is sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor on May 12, 2014.

The investigation which resulted in the charges in the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Hawaii Airport Task Force, assisted by the efforts of the Kauai Police Department.