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‘Prostitutes, illegal cabs back in Garapan’
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Posted on Dec 03 2008
Many prostitutes and illegal taxi drivers are once again operating in the western Garapan area, according to Rep. Joseph C. Reyes.
Reyes brought up with Department of Public Safety Commissioner Santiago Tudela the “high number of prostitutes and illegal taxis” in the area, apparently after receiving a lot of complaints from business establishment owners about the problem.
Reyes said these prostitutes and illegal taxi drivers operate in downtown Garapan, from the American Memorial Park to Winchell’s, then west to Fiesta Resort and north to Hyatt Regency Saipan.
The lawmaker urged Tudela to dig deeper into the problem to determine whether someone is behind the proliferation of prostitutes and illegal cabbies.
“Chances are that these activities are working together and it is very likely that someone is behind this and is running the operation,” he said.
Reyes said these illegal activities are bad for the image of Saipan and the business community.
Given the nightly presence of police officers in the area, the lawmaker asked the DPS commissioner to conduct better enforcement to eradicate or curb “this growing number of illegal operations.”
Saipan Tribune contacted Tudela yesterday afternoon for comment, but his staff said the commissioner was in a meeting with one of the lawmakers.
A DPS source, however, said that after receiving Reyes’ letter, Tudela immediately called in his deputy to instruct the Koban police station to scout the downtown Garapan area.
In April 2008, DPS, under the command of then commissioner Claudio K. Norita, launched “Strike Force Echo” to crack down on suspected illegal taxi operators.
The dragnet resulted in the arrest of 23 persons for allegedly operating illegal taxicabs, prostitution, and for overstaying. A total of 14 vehicles were also reportedly impounded in that crackdown.
