Two Prominent Women Convicted & Charged w Smuggling Ice Into Palau
Businesswoman to serve jail sentence for drug charges
by Leilani Reklai
September 17, 2021
Mrs. Dixie Tmetuchl, a businesswoman and wife of former Senator, will begin serving a 3-year jail sentence for drug charges this month according to multiple reliable sources. The case against Mrs. Tmetuchl was filed in May of 2019 but was sealed from the public by the court. To date, the case is still under seal by the court.
Details on the charges are not known due to the sealed nature of the case but sources say that defendant Tmetuchl was charged on drug-related charges and accepted a plea agreement from the government on a lesser charge.
The case was filed before the law carrying harsher penalties for trafficking and possession of controlled substances was enacted, and therefore the defendant can be eligible for work release after serving 6 months of her jail term.
The question of why this particular case was sealed but other drug cases were not, the response from the Office of Attorney General stated back in 2019 cited Rule 50 of the ROP Rules of Criminal Procedure that reads, “A party seeking to file under seal a pleading, motion, document, or exhibit must file a written motion for leave to do so. The pleading, motion, document, or exhibit thereafter may be filed under seal only if the court so orders.” In other words, the attorney for Mrs. Tmetuchl filed a motion requesting the court to seal the documents of the case and the court approved it.
The court has yet to unseal the case but information received by Island Times says that Mrs. Tmetuchl will report to Koror jail on September 27.
https://islandtimes.org/businesswoman-to-serve-jail-sentence-for-drug-charges/
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Suspected drug smuggler caught at the airport and charged
by Leilani Reklai
September 17, 2021
Narcotics Enforcement Agency (NEA) and Customs agents seized a woman, Ms. Sayuri Okada after her arrival on September 6 UA flight from Guam and found 4.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine “ice” drugs inside her hair “scrunchie” after conducting a secondary search on her.
According to NEA Office Nicholas Aquino Jr., one of the assigned NEA agents to screen incoming flights, they noticed on the flight manifest the name of the passenger who is considered “high risk” due to a history of drug smuggling.
Ms. Okada was asked to undergo secondary inspection which, according to the police report, she willingly agreed. After checking her clothes and luggage, she was asked to remove her hair “scrunchie”. The “scrunchie” which usually looks like rolled-up fabric, was cut open and a small clear plastic bag containing a crystalline substance was found. The crystalline substance weighed 4.5 grams and was found positive for methamphetamine after a field test.
She was read her rights and taken to the hospital for further search. The search yielded no other items.
She was charged yesterday by the Office of Attorney General on two felony counts, Trafficking a Controlled Substance and Possession of Less Than One Gram of a Controlled Substance. Trafficking carries a penalty of not less than 25 years jail sentence if convicted and a fine of not less than $50,000. Possession of More Than Once Gram of a Controlled Substance carries a minimum jail sentence of not less than 15 years and not less than $10,000 if convicted.
https://islandtimes.org/suspected-drug-smuggler-caught-at-the-airport-and-charged/
by Leilani Reklai
September 17, 2021
Mrs. Dixie Tmetuchl, a businesswoman and wife of former Senator, will begin serving a 3-year jail sentence for drug charges this month according to multiple reliable sources. The case against Mrs. Tmetuchl was filed in May of 2019 but was sealed from the public by the court. To date, the case is still under seal by the court.
Details on the charges are not known due to the sealed nature of the case but sources say that defendant Tmetuchl was charged on drug-related charges and accepted a plea agreement from the government on a lesser charge.
The case was filed before the law carrying harsher penalties for trafficking and possession of controlled substances was enacted, and therefore the defendant can be eligible for work release after serving 6 months of her jail term.
The question of why this particular case was sealed but other drug cases were not, the response from the Office of Attorney General stated back in 2019 cited Rule 50 of the ROP Rules of Criminal Procedure that reads, “A party seeking to file under seal a pleading, motion, document, or exhibit must file a written motion for leave to do so. The pleading, motion, document, or exhibit thereafter may be filed under seal only if the court so orders.” In other words, the attorney for Mrs. Tmetuchl filed a motion requesting the court to seal the documents of the case and the court approved it.
The court has yet to unseal the case but information received by Island Times says that Mrs. Tmetuchl will report to Koror jail on September 27.
https://islandtimes.org/businesswoman-to-serve-jail-sentence-for-drug-charges/
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Suspected drug smuggler caught at the airport and charged
by Leilani Reklai
September 17, 2021
Narcotics Enforcement Agency (NEA) and Customs agents seized a woman, Ms. Sayuri Okada after her arrival on September 6 UA flight from Guam and found 4.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine “ice” drugs inside her hair “scrunchie” after conducting a secondary search on her.
According to NEA Office Nicholas Aquino Jr., one of the assigned NEA agents to screen incoming flights, they noticed on the flight manifest the name of the passenger who is considered “high risk” due to a history of drug smuggling.
Ms. Okada was asked to undergo secondary inspection which, according to the police report, she willingly agreed. After checking her clothes and luggage, she was asked to remove her hair “scrunchie”. The “scrunchie” which usually looks like rolled-up fabric, was cut open and a small clear plastic bag containing a crystalline substance was found. The crystalline substance weighed 4.5 grams and was found positive for methamphetamine after a field test.
She was read her rights and taken to the hospital for further search. The search yielded no other items.
She was charged yesterday by the Office of Attorney General on two felony counts, Trafficking a Controlled Substance and Possession of Less Than One Gram of a Controlled Substance. Trafficking carries a penalty of not less than 25 years jail sentence if convicted and a fine of not less than $50,000. Possession of More Than Once Gram of a Controlled Substance carries a minimum jail sentence of not less than 15 years and not less than $10,000 if convicted.
https://islandtimes.org/suspected-drug-smuggler-caught-at-the-airport-and-charged/