Former Maui resident pleads guilty in fentanyl trafficking case

A Washington state man with 11 prior convictions, including five drug felonies in Hawaii, admitted to shipping nearly a pound of fentanyl to Maui.

by Jeremy Yurow, Court House News,  October 14, 2025

HONOLULU (CN) — Drew Allen Ward stood before a federal judge Tuesday and admitted to what prosecutors called a major drug trafficking operation that funneled deadly fentanyl from the mainland to Maui.

The former Maui resident pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin during a change-of-plea hearing before Senior U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson. Ward, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2023, appeared subdued, answering questions from the Barack Obama appointee in a quiet voice.

“I contacted an unknown individual and had them send fentanyl and heroin to Hawaii,” Ward admitted.

The plea is a major development in a case that federal authorities say underscores the pipeline of synthetic opioids flowing into Hawaii. Ward was arrested in Edgewood, Washington, after FBI agents traced packages containing approximately 480 grams of fentanyl — about one pound — and later heroin to him. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Nammar told the court that the government would have proven Ward “conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl” between December 2022 and May 2023.

The investigation that led to Ward’s arrest relied heavily on a confidential informant who told the FBI that Ward typically shipped drugs to Hawaii through the U.S. Postal Service, coordinating transactions using Signal, an encrypted messaging app.

In December 2022, the informant alerted authorities that Ward planned to send a package containing two 10-ounce packages of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $20,000. When a FedEx driver delivered the package to a residence on Old Haleakala Highway on Dec. 15, law enforcement agents seized it.

Authorities later used the informant to confirm shipment details that only Ward would know. Investigators also tracked who had checked the package’s delivery status, linking it to an IP address at Ward’s Washington home. A direct deposit from the drug transaction was traced to Ward’s bank account.

Court documents show Ward has 11 prior convictions, including five felony drug convictions in Hawaii. During Tuesday’s hearing, he told Watson he graduated from high school and last worked for his father’s roofing company in 2021.

The guilty plea comes as Hawaii continues to grapple with a fentanyl crisis. The synthetic opioid has become a leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the state.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Ward faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

As part of his plea agreement, Ward agreed to a $5,500 forfeiture money judgment and will receive a two-level reduction in his sentencing guidelines for acceptance of responsibility. The government agreed to dismiss two additional counts after sentencing.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2026. Ward will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until that time. A pre-sentence investigation and report will be prepared over the next three to four months to help guide the court’s sentencing decision.

Watson cautioned Ward that he could not predict the final sentence with precision until reviewing that report.

“I could impose a sentence more severe than what you expect, or more severe than what the guidelines call for, up to the maximum permitted by law,” he said.