KAILUA-KONA — Three people were arrested Tuesday for allegedly being part of a suspected narcotics smuggling operation that tried to move drugs through Kona International Airport.
KAILUA-KONA — Three people were arrested Tuesday for allegedly being part of a suspected narcotics smuggling operation that tried to move drugs through Kona International Airport.
James Bruno, 28; Kellen Foster, 32; and Jessica Tsibulski, 21, were arrested after officers found roughly $29,000 worth of street drugs in their possession.
The stash of drugs was found after a search that included a body cavity search of one of the suspects.
The bust happened after Vice Section officers and an agent from the FBI watched Bruno of Oceanside, Calif., and Foster of Kailua-Kona exit a plane that arrived from Los Angeles about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the airport.
The two men got into a vehicle occupied by Tsibulski, 21, of Kailua-Kona and drove away. Police reportedly witnessed the vehicle commit a traffic violation and pulled it over on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, south of the airport intersection. A drug dog gave a positive alert at the vehicle and the three were arrested.
During a search related to Tsibulski’s arrest, officers found two plastic packs of a brown powdery residue. An on-site test returned a positive result for heroin, police said.
The three suspects were taken into custody and detained at the Kona cellblock until officers obtained body warrants for the two men.
Officers found “a brown tar-like substance suspected to be heroin smeared on the interior of the transport van” in Bruno’s solo compartment. In total, police said they recovered 40.8 grams of material.
They also found 50.3 grams of a brown tar-like substance thought to be heroin and 12.7 grams of meth in Bruno’s body cavities, said Lt. Sherry Bird of the Vice Section.
Bird estimated the street value of the drugs at $27,000 for the heroin and $1,200 for the meth.
At 9 a.m. Thursday, Tsibulski was charged with third-degree promoting dangerous drugs and possessing drug paraphernalia. Her bail was set at $4,000, which she posted Friday.
Foster was released pending further investigation of a possible charge of criminal conspiracy.
Bruno appeared in court Friday morning for his arraignment and plea.
He was charged with first-degree meth trafficking, first-degree promoting a dangerous drug, tampering with physical evidence, second-degree criminal tampering and drug paraphernalia.
He conferred quietly with his attorney, public defender Frederick Macapinlac, and remained silent for most of the hearing.
Macapinlac argued that the bond was too high for Bruno, who is unemployed. He said a $100,000 bond would be sufficient to ensure Bruno attended all court hearings.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Charles Murray disagreed, saying Bruno is a California resident and he has been convicted eight times in that state, mostly for drug offenses.
Macapinlac said that proved Bruno had a history of attending his court hearings, as there were no convictions for contempt of court.
Judge Margaret Masunaga set the bond at $312,000, based on an adjusted report from the intake center.
The hearing ended on the only word Bruno would say to the court.
“Do you have any questions?” Masunaga asked.
“Nope,” he said.
Email Graham Milldrum at gmilldrum@westhawaiitoday.com.