West Oahu Man Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison for Purchasing Over 100 Pounds of Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Heroin from an Undercover Officer in Homeland Security Taskforce Operation

News Release from U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii, Wednesday, June 24, 2026

HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Bryson Couch, 42, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was sentenced on June 23, 2026 by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Derrick K. Watson to 188 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

According to court records, in July 2023, Couch was introduced to an undercover federal investigator posing as a large-scale drug supplier from the continental United States.  In subsequent meetings, Couch arranged to purchase 100 pounds of methamphetamine, two kilograms of cocaine, and approximately one kilogram of heroin from the undercover officer for $134,000.  On November 29, 2023, the defendant met the undercover officer at a Honolulu hotel with $134,000 in cash.  He then accepted three suitcases containing the agreed upon controlled substances and left the hotel room where he was arrested by law enforcement.

“The lesson to drug traffickers in Hawaii from Bryson Couch’s sentencing should be clear:  there is nowhere for you to run and hide.  We are proactively working with our law enforcement partners to hunt down and bring to justice anyone trafficking dangerous narcotics into our islands,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.  “Dealer by dealer, supplier by supplier, we are tirelessly working to disrupt and dismantle any drug trafficking operations infecting our state.”

“The 15-year sentence handed down to Bryson Couch is a clear reminder that drug trafficking is a losing gamble.  It’s only a matter of time before the person you’re making these deals with is working with us,” said CJ Ammons, Acting Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Honolulu Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Albanese prosecuted the case.

This prosecution was 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.

2023: Man allegedly bought 100 pounds of drugs from undercover agents | Honolulu Star-Advertiser