Hawaiʻi police recovered over 500 grams of illicit fentanyl across the Big Island in 2024

In 2024, the Hawaiʻi Police Department recovered 562.94 grams of illicit fentanyl and 5,664.5 illicit fentanyl pills and arrested 50 individuals for fentanyl-related offenses.

As part of its continuing community outreach about the dangers of fentanyl, Hawai‘i Police Department provides monthly updates on the amount of fentanyl-related arrests for possession and distribution in Hawai‘i County as well as the quantity of fentanyl recovered for the preceding month.

In December 2024, there were two fentanyl related arrests and police recovered a total of 0.81 grams of illicit fentanyl last month along with two fentanyl pills recovered during that time.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, just two milligrams of illicit fentanyl, equal to a couple grains of salt, is a lethal dose. The 0.81 total gram of illicit fentanyl recovered by Hawai‘i Police Department was enough to kill 405 Hawai‘i Island residents.

The 562.94 grams of illicit fentanyl recovered by the Hawai‘i Police Department in 2024 was enough to potentially kill 281,470 people, which is the equivalent of every resident on Hawai‘i Island and 98% of all residents on the island of Kaua‘i combined.  

The Hawai‘i Police Department is committed to fighting drugs on island and apprehending those that distribute and sell illegal narcotics. In recent years, the use of illicit fentanyl has reached epidemic proportions on the mainland and Hawai‘i.

Criminal drug networks are mixing this dangerous synthetic opioid into illegal counterfeit pills and selling them as legitimate prescription pills, often with deadly consequences. For fentanyl safety tips, how to recognize fentanyl poisoning, and more, visit the police department’s website.

To report information relating to illicit drug use and distribution, as well as vice issues such as prostitution, gambling, and other related crimes, call the East Hawaiʻi and West Hawaiʻi Vice Sections 24-hour anonymous vice and drug tip hotline.

For information pertaining to districts of Kaʻū, Kona, South Kohala, and North Kohala, call 808-329-0423. For Puna, South Hilo and Hāmākua, call 808-934-8423.

When calling, there is no requirement to provide a name, address or telephone number and all information is kept confidential and within the Criminal Investigation Division, according to the Hawaiʻi Police Department. Information is cross-referenced, allowing detectives to determine if additional information related to the criminal activity about has been reported in the past.

Even “small” bits of information can at times provide detectives with the “missing link” that allows them to take action.