Homeland security and other law enforcement agencies sprang into action on Friday afternoon when a \u201csuspicious\u201d mail package was received at the Office of the Governor\u2019s mail room, making the CNMI the latest to receive a package similar to those sent to governors of U.S. states and territories including Guam on May 7. Gov. Eloy S. Inos said the package was isolated, opened, and checked for any hazardous materials and turned out to contain papers, like the packages received by his counterparts in other parts of the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s standard procedure,\u201d the governor told reporters at an agricultural month proclamation signing at the Sabalu Market, referring to any suspicious package received. <\/p>\n
Inos said the CNMI homeland security got advance notice that should they receive any such suspicious package, just like what other state and territorial governor\u2019s offices received, they should isolate the package and assess any possible threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome governors have received similar packages\u2026they were cleared. They opened it up and checked it out, wanted to make sure they\u2019re not hazardous materials and so forth,\u201d Inos said.<\/p>\n
When asked what the contents were, the governor said, \u201cJust papers and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Press secretary Angel Demapan separately said on Saturday that the CNMI governor\u2019s office may have been the ninth among U.S. states and territories to receive a suspicious package.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the press secretary issued more details about the incident. He said it was at approximately 1pm on Friday that mail room personnel at the Office of the Governor reported the receipt of a suspicious mail package. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe area was isolated to the governor\u2019s office mail room and CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management along with the Department of Public Safety quickly closed access to the immediate areas for safety reasons,\u201d Demapan said.<\/p>\n
A similar package was sent to the Guam Office of the Governor on May 7, based on Guam media reports. The Guam Homeland Security and the Office of Civil Defense gave the \u201cAll Clear\u201d after an inspection of the suspicious package found that it was not a threat. Idaho\u2019s governor\u2019s office has also been among the recent ones to receive such a package.<\/p>\n
Demapan said the package these other offices received matched the description of the package found on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery suspicious mail or package is handled as a serious threat by local and federal authorities. In recent years we have since received, in our case this past week, something as simple as a book, but there can be more aggressive and deadly situations involving bombs, anthrax, and ricin. It is this broad spectrum that concerns us all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Through collaboration with partners such as the Marianas Regional Fusion Center, the CNMI was provided information ahead of time on the possible arrival of the suspicious package, Demapan said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThrough this partnership, the CNMI was able to effectively identify, respond, and address the situation right away. No other details are available at this time as the matter has been classified as an active and ongoing investigation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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