Press Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Hawaii
PJKK Federal Building (808) 541-2850
300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 6-100 FAX (808) 541-2958
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
For Immediate Release
Contact: Elliot Enoki
September 4, 2008
LAS VEGAS TRIO GUILTY OF DRUG TRAFFICKING IN HAWAII
HONOLULU, HAWAII – A federal jury returned verdicts earlier this week finding BENJAMIN ACUNA, ANABEL VALENZUELA and EDDY OLGUIN, all of Las Vegas, Nevada, guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess, with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and forfeiting ACUNA's and VALENZUELA's interests in various property in Las Vegas. ACUNA and VALENZUELA were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that during the trial of almost five weeks, evidence was produced to prove that ACUNA and VALENZUELA, husband and wife, were leaders of a large drug trafficking organization which shipped thousands of pounds of methamphetamine from Las Vegas, Nevada to Hawaii from approximately 2002 to September, 2005. OLGUIN assisted in the day-to-day operations of the organization, including arranging for the delivery of methamphetamine to others for transportation from Las Vegas to Hawaii.
ACUNA, VALENZUELA and OLGUIN each face a possible life sentence with a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment. ACUNA and VALENZUELA are scheduled to be sentenced January 5, 2009, by United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway, who will also sentence OLGUIN on December 15, 2008. In addition to imprisonment, by virtue of the jury's verdicts, ACUNA and VALENZUELA will forfeit to the United States government their interests in five real properties located in Las Vegas and the contents of four bank accounts and a safety deposit box also in Las Vegas because they were obtained with, or contained, cash proceeds generated from the drug trafficking conspiracy and were involved in, or traceable to, the money laundering offenses committed by ACUNA and VALENZUELA. The jury also ordered ACUNA and VALENZUELA to forfeit $8,000,000 in the form of a money judgment in favor of the United States as a conservative sum reflecting the organization's profit from the sale and distribution of 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine within the District of Hawaii.
The case was the culmination of a three-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. To date, 21 individuals have been prosecuted and convicted of federal drug offenses for their roles in the drug conspiracy. Another co-conspirator in the case, ANTONIO SANTOS, age 40, of Waipahu, Hawaii, was sentenced on September 2, 2008, by United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright to 240 months (20 years) in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess, with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to information produced in connection with court proceedings, SANTOS was part of the above-described conspiracy wherein he received pound quantities of methamphetamine which were then distributed within the District of Hawaii. The drug parcels SANTOS received were mailed from Las Vegas, Nevada to Hawaii. SANTOS, in turn, mailed parcels containing cash proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine to Las Vegas and, ultimately, to ACUNA and VALENZUELA. SANTOS was convicted after a jury trial in November, 2007.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Inciong and Clare E. Connors.
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