Federal judges in Hawaii sentence members of drug-trafficking rings to prison

Peter Boylan, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Sun, December 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM UTC

4 min read

Two members of large drug-trafficking organizations that shipped methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin into Hawaii were sentenced to federal prison terms in separate cases last week.

Faith Michelle Nelson, 52, of Kauai, was sentenced Wednesday to 12-1 /2 years behind bars followed by five years of supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in Honolulu federal court. Nelson pleaded guilty July 14 to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

She was originally charged with conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and attempted possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in a 39-page indictment. Nelson has been at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu since her arrest April 10, 2024.

“This individual has an extensive history of harming our community and putting countless families at risk, ” said Kauai Police Chief Kalani Ke in a news release Wednesday. “Today’s sentence holds her accountable for her actions and demonstrates that such destructive behavior will not be tolerated. We commend our federal partners for helping end this operation, and we remain committed to keeping Kauai safe from those who bring dangerous drugs into our communities.”

Nelson was part of a conspiracy that was shipping fentanyl and methamphetamine into Hawaii through the U.S. mail and selling methamphetamine on Kauai, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Hawaii District. She was personally responsible for moving more than 18 pounds of methamphetamine as part of the drug ring, officials said.

Nelson is one of 11 people charged in three separate indictments for crimes related to the operation of the trans-Pacific drug trafficking network, nine of whom have pleaded guilty, with the remaining two defendants awaiting trial.

The investigation seized more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine, several kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil, an extremely potent synthetic opioid, along with eight firearms, ammunition and more than $150, 000 in cash.

“(The ) sentence represents a significant step in bringing to justice the trans-Pacific criminal enterprise that Nelson and her co-conspirators used to flood communities in Hawaii, Alaska, and beyond with deadly drugs, ” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson in a news release. “We credit our tremendous law enforcement partners with helping to expose and dismantle this dangerous drug operation.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Kauai, Maui and Honolulu police departments, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

THURSDAY SAW the sentencing of a member of a heavily armed drug-trafficking organization from Michigan that moved fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine to Hawaii from Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake imposed a six-year prison term on Lynden David Lightburn, 52, of Los Angeles, followed by five years of supervised release.

Lightburn was a member of a group that included people from Hawaii, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Florida who were found with rifles, handguns and more than $250, 000 in cash hidden in cars and storage units on Oahu. The group sold fentanyl in mixtures with heroin and in counterfeit oxycodone tablets.

“This sentencing, and the overall resolution of the related investigation, represents years of collaboration between multiple law enforcement agencies to dismantle one of Hawaii’s most dangerous drug trafficking organizations, ” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter in a news release.

“The FBI—in coordination with our partners—will continue to use every available resource to protect our communities by taking these violent offenders off the board and bringing them to justice.”

During the multiagency investigation, law enforcement agents made “dozens ” of controlled purchases of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine from the conspirators and executed 15 search warrants on residences, rental storage units and parcels.

On June 30 and July 1, 2021, Honolulu police and DEA agents seized $121, 131 from a storage unit on Waialae Avenue, $102, 919 from a storage unit on Hila Place in Pearl City, $24, 327 from a bag stashed in a black Mercedes-Benz vehicle and $4, 857 from a Young Street residence, according to court documents.

Also on June 30, investigators searched a storage unit on Kawa Street in Kaneohe, the Young Street residence and the Mercedes, uncovering a cache of rifles, handguns and ammunition.

More than 15 kilograms of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine also were seized during the investigation.

BETWEEN 2021 and June 2024, 1, 018 people have died of drug overdoses in Hawaii, including 660 from methamphetamine and 140 from fentanyl, according to the state Department of Health.

The vast majority of illegal drugs make their way into the islands through an array of avenues, according to law enforcement officials, including shipments by mail and cargo containers, in airline luggage and personally carried by couriers, before they are sold through local supply chains.

On the street in Hawaii, “M30 ” fentanyl pills retail for between $2 and $3 each and from $3, 000 and $3, 500 a kilogram, according to market intelligence in June from DEA.

Drug-trafficking organizations are marketing cocaine in Hawaii starting at $25, 000 a kilogram and as high as $30, 000 a kilogram. Four ounces of crystal methamphetamine sells for about $700 an ounce and between $5, 600 and $6, 000 a kilogram, the report said.

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