How to Become a DEA Agent in Maui, Hawaii by Meeting Requirements

The island of Maui is the second-largest island that makes up the state of Hawaii, and is a hot bed of drug smuggling and manufacturing because it is more rural and isolated than the more urban parts of the state. While the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) only has one main office in the state of Hawaii in Honolulu, there is a post of duty station set-up on the island of Maui. The primary focus of the post of duty in Maui is to identify drug manufacturers and dealers in the area and to stop them from distributing the drugs throughout the rest of the state.

The largest drug problem in the state of Hawaii is crystal meth, which has rose from a primarily rural drug to an alarming drug trend in urban neighborhoods. The post of duty in Maui keeps anywhere from 2-5 agents in the area in order to investigate possible crystal meth labs, as well as other suspicious drug activity tied to illegal marijuana farms, prescription drug rings, crack cocaine dealing and heroin use- which is rare in the area, but still prevalent enough to investigate.

DEA Jobs and Careers in Maui

Agents employed at the Maui post of duty tend to be diversion investigators responsible for performing long-range investigations that result in large busts, rather than smaller ones. When considering how to become a diversion investigator with the Maui DEA, there are a series of requirements and experience that applicants must meet. Applicants must also have at least one of the following types of experience:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a 2.95 GPA, or a LL. B or J.D. Degree
  • Extensive experience in drug and narcotics investigations
  • 3 years experience in military, maritime/ pilot experience, mechanical/ technical fields, accounting and/ or auditing processes and foreign language fluency in combination with a bachelor’s degree (no GPA required)

Recent DEA Activity in Maui

The many rural parts of the island of Maui make it an attractive option to create crystal meth labs and marijuana growing operations, which are the primary concerns of the DEA on Maui and make up most of the drug busts and investigations conducted in the area. The following are some of the latest and most significant drug busts conducted by the DEA in Maui:

  • January 2013: The DEA raided a home in South Maui, which resulted in the seizure of clandestine meth lab with enough ingredients to create massive amounts of crystal meth, as well as thousands of dollars in stolen lab equipment and dozens of dangerous weapons and ammunition.
  • July 2012: Six suspects were apprehended in conjunction with an investigation concerning a prescription drug ring. Reports suggest that the individuals netted $3,000 a day in profits from selling the pills.
  • July 2009: The Maui DEA were called in by police who discovered 1,232 marijuana plants on Piholo Road in Maui. The grow operation was located almost entireley indoors and police believe the suspect dealt the drugs in multi-pound quantities to local gangs and independent dealers.

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