Gift store owner admits ivory, coral smuggling ADVERTISING Gift store owner admits ivory, coral smuggling HONOLULU (AP) — The owner of a Hawaii jewelry and gift retail business is pleading guilty in a case involving smuggled ivory and black coral.
Gift store owner admits ivory, coral smuggling
HONOLULU (AP) — The owner of a Hawaii jewelry and gift retail business is pleading guilty in a case involving smuggled ivory and black coral.
Curtis Wilmington said he purchased raw walrus tusks and whale teeth from Alaska, smuggled them to the Philippines to be carved into fish hooks and smuggled the pieces back to Hawaii. Authorities say he then sold the fish hook pendants at hotel boutiques, passing them off as made in Hawaii by local artisans.
Wilmington said he also smuggled black coral from Mexico to Hawaii.
He said he knew it was illegal to ship the items without proper documentation and permits.
Wilmington on Thursday also pleaded guilty on behalf of his company, Hawaiian Accessories Inc.
Authorities say the fish hooks were sold for about $250 each.
Kauai police seize $1.6 million of meth in arrest of 2 men
HONOLULU (AP) — Kauai police arrested two men as part of an ongoing investigation that led to the recovery of methamphetamine estimated at a street value of $1.6 million.
Kauai County officials said in a news release that police acting on a search warrant seized more than 7 pounds of meth during a search of a Hanamaulu home Tuesday. Officers also say they found a handgun, other illegal drugs and about $2,000 in cash.
Police Chief Darryl Perry said in a statement that Tuesday’s search resulted in the largest amount of meth the department recovered in a single incident.
A 24-year-old Hanamaulu man and a 28-year-old man from California were arrested in connection with the investigation of several drug-related offenses, theft and altering serial numbers on the handgun.
Dental worker charged in 2013 case involving toddler patient
HONOLULU (AP) — An Oahu dental assistant is facing charges after prosecutors say she gave a 2-year-old patient narcotics during a routine checkup that left the child unconscious for 12 hours in 2013.
Nicole “Momi” Dudoit, 29, turned herself into authorities Wednesday. She is charged with assault and drug violations.
Dudoit is accused of giving the toddler Meperidine and Chloral-Hydrate during a November 2013 visit. State Attorney General Doug Chin says the girl was left unconscious for several hours and suffered a protracted loss of the central nervous system.
The incident took place at Island Dentistry for Children, where another child, 3-year-old Finley Boyle, suffered brain damage from oral sedation weeks later. He died the following month.
Dudoit is set to appear in court Monday.
