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Hawaii man gets 121 months for trying to smuggle meth, fentanyl to Alaska
A Big Island man who tried to take his drugs back from airport security officers and then ran from the checkpoint was sentenced Nov. 6 to just over 10 years in federal prison.
Kevin James Hallum, 52, of Captain Cook, Hawaii, was trying to smuggle methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin from Hawaii to Alaska, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii.
It fell apart at Kona International Airport. On July 25, 2025, Hallum tried to pass through Transportation Security Administration screening with work boots packed in his carry-on bag. Inside the boots were socks, and inside the socks was "a substantial quantity" of meth, fentanyl, heroin and other drugs, according to evidence presented at trial.
TSA officers noticed something off about the bag and found the drugs. As they went through it, Hallum told them the boots were his, tried to take the drugs back and fled the checkpoint, prosecutors said. He was caught later and charged.
A jury convicted him July 2 after a four-day trial on charges of conspiring to distribute meth, fentanyl and heroin and possessing them with intent to distribute. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Micah W. J. Smith found that Hallum had obstructed justice by giving false testimony at both his trial and his sentencing.
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Latest
November 2026
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About Outside Alaska
Outside Alaska covers places, institutions and events beyond the state's borders, from the Lower 48 to Washington, D.C. and other nations. These are matters that touch Alaska without being anchored in it.
Much of what happens Outside reaches Alaska through Congress, the White House and federal agencies, whose votes, confirmations, rules and funding decisions shape the state. Alaska's members of Congress vote on national questions such as nominations, artificial intelligence and voting rules, and federal agencies set terms for Native housing loans, Indian Health Service leadership and research grants.
Defense decisions made in Washington set the money for bases in Alaska. Global events such as oil price swings filter back into the state budget and household costs.
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