HONOLULU - United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Anthony Bravo, 53, an inmate at the Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California, was found guilty on October 16, 2026, following a two-week jury trial before Senior United States District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and carfentanil, and nine counts of distributing methamphetamine. Sentencing is set for February 7, 2027, before Judge Kobayashi.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Bravo, an imprisoned felon with a lengthy history of violent crime and drug trafficking, was the leader and organizer of the drug trafficking organization and had transformed his prison cell into a global command center orchestrating a devastating flood of poison by pumping hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and kilograms of deadly fentanyl and carfentanil across the Pacific and into the Hawaiian Islands.

Carfentanil is used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals. Carfentanil is approximately 100 times more potent than fentanyl, which can be lethal at the 2-milligram range, depending on route of administration and other factors.

Bravo is one of eleven defendants charged in three separate indictments for crimes related to the operation of a trans-Pacific drug trafficking network. Ten of the defendants pled guilty. Bravo was the only defendant who proceeded to trial. The investigation yielded seizures of more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine, several kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil, eight firearms, ammunition, and over $150,000 in cash.

Those charged in his and other related indictments have been sentenced as follows:

• On April 30, 2025, Shawn Pauahi Santana was sentenced to 240 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and to distributing methamphetamine.
• On December 10, 2025, Faith Michelle Nelson was sentenced to 151 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• On December 16, 2025, Francis Anthony Abergas, Jr. was sentenced to 210 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm and ammunition after having been previously convicted of a felony.
• On January 8, 2026, Trish Leila Henderson was sentenced to 36 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• On January 12, 2026, Travis Kalani Hong-Ah Nee was sentenced to 78 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil and possessing with intent to distribute carfentanil and possessing ammunition after having been previously convicted of a felony.
• On January 29, 2026, Leonard Gutierrez was sentenced to 340 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and carfentanil, nine counts of distribution of methamphetamine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
• On September 9, 2026, Kennard Hinano Boyd Kekona was sentenced to 120 months' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and carfentanil, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and carfentanil.

"This was a sophisticated and large-scale drug trafficking organization moving extraordinary quantities of dangerous drugs across the globe and into our communities in Hawaii," said U.S. Attorney Sorenson. "Operations like this fuel addiction, death, violence, and misery, and we will pursue the people who run them with the full force of federal law. I commend the investigators, prosecutors, and staff whose dedication brought Bravo and his co-conspirators to justice. Together, we will continue working across agencies, jurisdictions, and borders to find those who traffic poison into our communities and hold them accountable wherever they operate."

"Bravo's organization pushed staggering amounts of deadly narcotics into our islands, threatening countless lives across Hawaii," said FBI Honolulu Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan C. Noonan. "This conviction sends a clear message that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue drug traffickers at every level-whether they operate on our streets or from behind prison walls. Working alongside our partners, we will continue to target and dismantle the criminal organizations responsible for poisoning our communities."

"The Honolulu Police Department is proud to work alongside our federal law enforcement partners to help keep dangerous drugs out of our communities," said Honolulu Police Department Chief David Lazar. "Cases like this highlight the importance of collaboration and the impact we can make when agencies work together toward a common goal. We appreciate the FBI's leadership in this investigation and remain committed to doing our part to keep Hawaiʻi safe."

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui Police Departments, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret C. Nammar and Adrienne Shergill are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Hawaii comprises agents and officers from ICE-HSI, FBI, ATF, CBP, CGIS, DCIS, DEA, DSS, IRS-CI, NCIS, USMS, USPIS, and HHIDTA, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii.