Kauaʻi man sentenced to over 17 years in prison for drug trafficking, firearms charges

52-year-old Francis Anthony Abergas Jr. of Kauaʻi was sentenced yesterday to 17 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and firearm charges.

According to court records, Abergas was part of a conspiracy that was acquiring controlled substances through the U.S. mail and was engaged in the distribution of methamphetamine on Kauaʻi. In total, Abergas was held responsible for more than 23 pounds of methamphetamine.

Abergas was charged with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm and ammunition after having been previously convicted of a felony. He has been detained since his initial arrest in this case on April 10, 2024.

Abergas is one of 11 defendants charged in three separate indictments for crimes related to the operation of a trans-Pacific drug trafficking network, nine of whom have pleaded guilty, with the remaining awaiting trial.

The overall investigation yielded seizures of more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine, several kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil, eight firearms, ammunition, and more than $150,000 in cash.

On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi sentenced Abergas to a total of 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Abergas is the second defendant in a nine-defendant indictment to be sentenced. On Dec. 10, 2025, Faith Michelle Nelson was sentenced to 151 months in prison and five years of supervised release for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

On April 30, 2025, in one of the related cases charged by separate indictment, Shawn Pauahi Santana was sentenced to 240 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and to distributing methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Kauaʻi, Maui, and Honolulu police departments, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.