Dozens Arrested in Hawaii Drug Case

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) â€” An investigation into the smuggling of drugs from Mexico and California to Hawaii for distribution on Maui Island led to dozens of arrests. <br><br>In all, 79 people in Hawaii

Friday, May 5th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) â€” An investigation into the smuggling of drugs from Mexico and California to Hawaii for distribution on Maui Island led to dozens of arrests.

In all, 79 people in Hawaii and California were named in eight federal indictments returned Wednesday and unsealed Thursday. The arrests were made Thursday as authorities searched 20 to 30 homes.

Authorities had no immediate details on how many of the 89 were taken into custody.

The indictments described the ring as the ``Ruiz-Mora drug organization,'' which imported heroin, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana.

Two of those named in the indictments, Felipe Ruiz-Castro and Francisco Mora-Garcia, are among the registered owners of the La Fogata restaurant in Lahaina. The restaurant was used to store the drugs, the indictments said.

The suspects where held at the National Guard armory in Wailuku before being flown aboard a Hawaii Air National Guard plane to Honolulu to make their initial court appearance.