Image Credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images 
A male suspect is facing significant charges for possible narcotics dealing and shining a laser at a federal helicopter in Oregon this month, authorities say.
The Department of Justice announced details of an ongoing investigation launched after a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) chopper was forced to abort a planned landing during a laser attack in the Portland area on Oct. 3.
The FBI executed a federal search warrant at the residence of 38-year-old Brian Keith Kapileo Nepaial on Oct. 10 in connection with incident.
Agents discovered a laser pointer and more than 100 grams of methamphetamines in Kapileo Nepaial’s bedroom and took him into custody.
“Laser strikes are a serious matter with potentially deadly repercussions. They put the lives of the pilots and the public at risk. Aiming or pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and will be prosecuted,” said Scott E. Bradford, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Kapileo Nepaial is currently being held in Washington County on a parole violation.
He faces up to five years in prison for the laser strike and up to 40 years if convicted of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
He is an upstanding citizen… pic.twitter.com/NZ3peieSvj
— Michael O. Weber (@MugshotMike541) October 17, 2025
On Sept. 27, a CBP helicopter in the skies over Portland was hit with a laser by suspects who also targeted another aircraft “in an attempt to temporarily blind the pilot’s ability to see,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Authorities determined the laser had been beamed from a Portland residence where the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations served a search warrant and encountered four illegal aliens, all of whom were arrested.
