2 men arrested in Kona on drug-related offenses
Hawaii island police recovered a large quantity of illegal drugs with a street value of more than $50,000 after arresting two men in Kona Tuesday.
The two suspects, Pueo Francois, 38, of Kona, and Abdur Ali-Woods, 61, of Sacramento, Calif., were subsequently charged Wednesday with 11 drug-related offenses, police said Friday.
Area II Vice Section investigators obtained information that a man, later identified as Ali-Woods, was flying to Hawaii from out of state with possible powdered fentanyl to distribute, and that Francois was in possession of powdered fentanyl, according to a news release.
On Tuesday, officers stopped a rental vehicle in Kona being operated by Francois, with Ali-Woods as a passenger. A Hawaii Police Department drug-sniffing dog alerted to the scent of narcotics in the vehicle, which was then towed to the Kealakehe Police Station, the release said.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, with police recovering nearly 50 grams of fentanyl, more than 20 grams of methamphetamine, 45 grams of heroin and 21 grams of marijuana. They also seized $786 in cash for forfeiture.
Francois and Ali-Woods were each charged with five counts of promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree; two counts of promoting a dangerous drug in the second degree; and one count each of promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree, promoting a controlled substance in, on, or near public housing projects or complexes, drug paraphernalia and promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree.
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Bail for the two suspects was set at $321,250 each. Francois and Ali-Woods made their initial appearance Thursday in Kona District Court.