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Tourism officials say sorry to China over DEA search
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Posted on Oct 16 2008
Local tourism officials have apologized to authorities in China after Drug Enforcement Administration agents subjected scores of Chinese tourists to intensive body searches at Saipan International Airport nearly two weeks ago. Gov. Benigno Fitial also vowed action to prevent such incidents in the future.
In an Oct. 10 letter to Century Tours and the management of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel—which were involved in the deal that brought the tourists to Saipan on a Shanghai Airlines charter flight—Fitial said his administration has requested talks with the federal government about the searches and how to prevent them from occurring again.
“I want to let you know that my administration is extremely displeased with the manner in which this activity was conducted,” Fitial said. “We did not approve of this and do not support such treatment of visitors to our islands.”
The searches at issue focused on 147 of the 187 passengers aboard a charter plane that arrived on Saipan in the predawn darkness Saturday Oct. 4. The passengers reported that customs authorities directed them one at a time into an isolated room and searched even the most private parts of their bodies. DEA agents found no illegal drugs during the searches, yet one reported some contraband items—such as plant and animal products—were uncovered.
Many of the travelers said later that they were outraged by the treatment and swore never to return to the CNMI.
However, a DEA agent has said airport searches are commonplace throughout the United States and an integral part of the agency’s mission to stop the trafficking of narcotics like crystal methamphetamine, which has become one of the most widely abused drugs in the Marianas. The searches, he added, were random and did not intentionally target any specific group.
Tourism officials on Saipan fear the incident could damage the CNMI’s image in China. In an Oct. 10 letter to the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, California, Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio apologized, noting the local government had no control over the operation.
“We hope that this regrettable and isolated incident does not alter your affection for the CNMI and its people,” Tenorio said.
