A Big Island man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to import more than 5,000 grams of anabolic steroids into Hawaii for distribution in the United States. Big Isle man pleads
guilty in steroids caseStar-Bulletin staff
Jessielee Estrada, 19, and co-defendant Poletaki William Kivalu, also of the Big Island, face up to five years imprisonment when sentenced Nov. 18 and Oct. 28, respectively. Kivalu pleaded guilty to the same charge on June 27.
According to the complaint, Kivalu communicated with mainland individuals via the Internet and agreed to accept parcels containing anabolic steroids fromThailand, China, Peru and Yugoslavia for a fee.
From September 2001 to January, Kivalu and Estrada accepted parcels containing the steroids at their homes or mailboxes. The steroids were in tablet and liquid form. The two Hilo High graduates then repackaged the steroids and sent them to various addresses including California, New York and Texas, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Beverly Sameshima.
Anabolic steroids are classified as controlled substances and federal drug statutes make it illegal to import any kind of controlled substances or possess with intent to distribute.