Work is now underway to make the CNMI\u2019s Customs Services Division become a drug-detector dog training center in the region once again, according to Customs director Joe Mafnas.<\/p>\n
Mafnas said this as Customs held a mock demonstration at the airport on Friday to show how two of its three new drug-detector dogs, with their handlers, sniff through arriving passengers and luggage for illegal drugs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done it before, we can do it again,\u201d Mafnas told Saipan Tribune. \u201cBut I would like to point out that we need to take care of the CNMI\u2019s needs first, before opening it up to other areas that also need training.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mafnas, who revived the K9 program last year upon his reappointment as Customs director, said once the program is able to meet all the expectations to meet local needs, then it will start accepting K9 and handler training applications from American Samoa, Guam, and other island territories, just like years back.<\/p>\n
The CNMI Customs\u2019 Pacific Region Detector Dog Training Center was once touted as a \u201cmodel\u201d in the Pacific.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Customs Lt. Jesse Atalig, the only certified senior instructor for drug-detector dog handling in the CNMI, led a mock demonstration of how drug-detector dogs and their handlers check arriving passengers and their luggage.<\/p>\n
The demonstration showcasing two of three new drug-detector dogs was supposed to be for Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson but they were not able to show up because of meetings on Capital Hill. Customs, however, proceeded with the scheduled mock demonstration for the media.<\/p>\n
The mock demonstration showed Customs detector dog specialist John Pangelinan with a 16-month-old Labrador named \u201cBen\u201d going through a customs lineup of passengers and their luggage.<\/p>\n
Another demonstration involved drug-detector dog specialist Nokki Saralu with 14-month-old Labrador named \u201cCharlie.\u201d <\/p>\n
Both dogs were able to point to their handlers the passengers\/luggage with the illegal drug \u201cice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pangelinan said \u201cBen\u201d is the second K9 he has closely worked with, as Customs replaced three of its aging drug-detector dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you train and work with different dogs, you become a much better handler. And these new dogs are much younger than the ones we used to have,\u201d Pangelinan said.<\/p>\n
Two of the new dogs arrived weeks back, while the third one arrived on Saipan only last week from Florida.<\/p>\n
Each dog costs about $10,000, including shipment to Saipan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at acquiring more dogs for the Saipan operations,\u201d Mafnas said.<\/p>\n
Customs\u2019 drug-detector dogs are used not only at the Saipan airport, but also at the seaport and the post office. <\/p>\n
Mafnas said the dogs also assist the Department of Public Safety and other local and federal law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n
The CNMI Customs K9 Unit was idled for over a year starting in June 2012 due to lack of funds and of certified drug-detector dog handlers. When the governor brought Mafnas back to Customs, the latter revived the K9 Unit in 2013. A year after the program\u2019s revival, it replaced its three aging dogs with younger ones to further beef up border security.<\/p>\n
Mafnas said the dogs that were decommissioned were put up for adoption.<\/p>\n
The use of drug-detector dogs is an added tool to detect drugs in incoming passengers, luggage, cargoes, and post office packages, complementing manual checks by Customs personnel at ports of entries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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