{"id":283612,"date":"2018-09-03T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T20:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=283612"},"modified":"2018-09-03T06:00:46","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T20:00:46","slug":"reflecting-on-labor-day-protecting-our-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/reflecting-on-labor-day-protecting-our-borders\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on Labor Day; protecting our borders"},"content":{"rendered":"
Customs\u00a0lieutenant John Henry Maratita Sablan, third from right, poses with the Special Enforcement Branch composed of the K-9 Unit, X-Ray Unit and Investigations. (Office of the Governor)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After receiving the distinction of overall government employee of the year, John Henry Maratita Sablan states that without his team and network of support, it would not have been possible.<\/p>\n

As the customs lieutenant for the Special Enforcement Branch, Sablan provides direct support for the division\u2019s K-9, Investigation, and X-Ray Unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to be in law enforcement and I was very fortunate that a spot in Customs opened up one day. I\u2019ve worked my way up ever since, starting in operations, to clearing passengers, then the K-9 Unit and later I moved to investigations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Under the Special Enforcement Branch, Sablan\u2019s days usually start very early before the first vessel or domestic airline arrives. \u201cUsually by midnight we begin our briefing as to what happened the night before because we focus on all airports, seaports, and post offices.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 18 Customs personnel manning the borders and two K-9 handlers from the Department of Public Safety, Sablan said the team must be very well-rounded to tackle 24-hour operations every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, we\u2019re in the process of constructing a new kennel and we\u2019ll be able to house more canines and reopen the Pacific Regional Detector Dog Center. We currently have four canines on the job and four more undergoing training. This would not have been possible without our leadership\u2019s support and our team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After almost 15 years in public service, Sablan\u2019s most memorable moment on the job was a $4.2-million drug seizure. The bust intercepted 12 kilograms of methamphetamine from an incoming container and was discovered after a weeklong inspection of electronic components and apparel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntercepting these drugs and contraband and being part of the biggest bust in the CNMI\u2019s history is something that keeps me going. The job is very rewarding and I\u2019m always excited to work with the people on board. It makes it even more rewarding with the continued support of Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson, [Customs] director [Jose] Mafnas, and Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The strong working relationship within his team makes the job more rewarding and Sablan dedicates it all to his coworkers and mentors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve worked so long together, and we know customs operations throughout. The Oceania Customs Organization has also benefited\u00a0Customs as a whole by getting all the officers trained on the latest trends and helping us gain more confidence to carry out our duties,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to keep the CNMI safe at the borders, but we also collect\u00a0taxes, and this is a big part of making the economy work. I think we\u2019ve done a great job with collecting revenue as well as enforcing the law. At the end of the day, I want to give a shout out to my team, especially to the Special Enforcement Branch and the Drug Enforcement Task Force. Without them, I wouldn\u2019t have received this award.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the CNMI Labor Day festivities last Aug. 25, Sablan recognized Torres\u2019 War on Ice initiative and expressed his gratitude to his mother, Vice Speaker Janet U. Maratita (R-Saipan), for instilling in him the values of respect and strong work ethic.<\/p>\n

Mafnas said the K-9 Unit serves a dual purpose: Dealing with the detection of narcotics and tracking and apprehension of wanted criminals; the X-Ray Unit facilitates with the inspection of baggage and imported cargo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese enforcement units are the backbone for all customs investigations of contraband and illegal narcotics.\u00a0Our officers are assigned at ports of entry and ensure that our community is protected, and revenues are collected. Overall, I am extremely proud of our special enforcement team and commend their excellent work,\u201d Mafnas said. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After receiving the distinction of overall government employee of the year, John Henry Maratita Sablan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":283613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26,22531,3098,22532],"class_list":["post-283612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi","tag-k-9-unit","tag-labor-day","tag-special-enforcement-branch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}