An Uliga man has been charged with four counts of drug possession and distribution following a sting operation and search of his home.
Elai Aiseia, 40, was charged with unlawful possession of prohibited drugs, unlawful use of prohibited drugs, unlawful selling of prohibited drugs, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Assistant Attorney General Cherlina Loeak filed the charges earlier this month.
It is the first drug case to be prosecuted in over 18 months despite reports from local residents that crack cocaine and crystal meth distribution in the community has been flourishing for some time.
The charges against Aiseia resulted from a routine driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) arrest on May 4 when Majuro Atoll Local Police picked up a driver who failed a sobriety test. When they transported him to the national police main jail in Uliga and booked him, they discovered a plastic bag in his pocket containing four pieces of crack cocaine.
When the DUI driver was released a couple of days later, he was brought to MALGov police station, where detectives used a drug kit to determine the confiscated “rocks” were in fact crack. The man, after being read his right to remain silent and have a lawyer present, said he was willing to talk. He told MALGov detectives that he had purchased the crack from Aiseia the same day he was arrested for DUI and had also bought crack from Aiseia on three previous occasions.
Based on this information, MALGov detectives went to the Attorney General’s office to seek a search warrant, which was obtained May 17. The next day, two MALGov detectives, armed with their search warrant, went to Aiseia’s home in Uliga and found drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to the affidavit filed with the AG Office charges.
MALGov police said they found handmade smoking pipes, one bowl containing crack cocaine pieces, and another with marijuana inside it. Seven Ziploc bags with methamphetamine were also confiscated, the affidavit said. They also said they found a “marijuana grinder.” In addition, MALGov detectives confiscated a large locked toolbox that evidenced “a strong odor of marijuana.”
During an interview with police subsequent to the search, Aiseia said he’d make a confession about everything, the police said.
They also broke open the locked toolbox while interviewing him. “Inside the toolbox, (MALGov detectives) discovered one medium clear container containing two big Ziploc bags of unwrapped marijuana, one large clear container with seven Ziploc bags of marijuana, one clear jar that contained five Ziploc bags of methamphetamine, and a Walmart bag containing one clear bag of marijuana and $1,109 in cash,” MALGov detectives reported. All the drugs confiscated tested positive when run through test kits at MIPD, the MALGov affidavit said.
Aiseia was scheduled for his first appearance in the High Court this week.