Mexican Cartels Targeting Hawaii With ‘Alarming’ Quantities of Meth and Fentanyl, Says DEA Agent

A United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) official claims that there is an alarming amount of Mexican cartel meth and Fentanyl making its way into Hawaii .

Knewz.com has learned that testifying to the latter, are the growing homeless tent communities on Oahu Island’s beaches.

“It's alarming,” said Victor Vazquez, second in charge of the DEA’s Hawaii division. “If it wasn't for the ocean, the drugs would be driven straight to Waikiki.”

The main suspects for the ongoing stream of contraband are the dominant Sinaloa and Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels in Mexico, per USA Today .

These rival organized criminal elements are believed to be targeting the Central Pacific holiday destination for the same reason they do Alaska; the lack of competition and a smaller law enforcement presence.

U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors, also overseeing Hawaii as a jurisdiction, corroborated the latter saying:

“We know it's cartel-generated drugs because of our interdiction efforts.”

The drugs landing on the island are believed to be making it past the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials at airports .

The mules are believed to be achieving this level of success by carrying the contraband on their beings, in their hand luggage, or by posting the drugs via mail to the capital city of Honolulu whereafter they are trafficked to the less central islands.

“We also still see a lot of it coming in through body carry,” Connors confirmed.

A result of the growing drug problem is the contrast between carefree holidaymakers and ground-down islanders.

Vazquez believes the problem is predictable.

“No one should be surprised. Everybody should be aware it affects all 50 states and the territories.”

Connors fears a dark prognosis, “I am very concerned that it is at our door stop and that we will start seeing more tragic consequences in our state amongst our youth," she was quoted saying.

The drug problem was documented in the island territory in 2023 already when the Honolulu Civil Beat reported a sharp increase in drug overdoses .

“On Kauai, drug overdose deaths have more than quadrupled in 10 years from fewer than five in 2012 to 18 [2022] last year, contributing to an alarming rise in fatal drug use statewide,” the island outlet reported.

The publication went on to say that drug use was the second-largest cause of injury on the territory’s second-largest island, Garden Isle, in 2021.

Dr. Graham Chelius, a doctor serving a town of less than 2,000 people, notes that during the same period, he prescribed medicine to deal with withdrawal symptoms to hundreds of people including inmates at the local jail .

Social worker Michael Miranda however, put the problem down to something else.

He said: “I think it's an indicator of the quality of our education system, the cost of living, the lack of housing. People are self-medicating with illicit substances to cope with all the socioeconomic stressors they are facing.”