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Police recover stolen disaster relief supplies
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Posted on Feb 13 2006
Police have recovered most of the 63 boxes of disaster relief supplies worth $54,000 that were stolen during a burglary at the Emergency Management Office’s storage room, police said yesterday.
Maj. Edward H. Manalili, chief of the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, told the Saipan Tribune that CIB detectives were able to retrieve many of the disaster relief packages since last week.
Manalili said some concerned citizens also returned many items contained in the packages yesterday morning.
“The concerned citizens just came forward to turn over the items after reading the articles [about the break-in],” the CIB chief said, adding that they also received many tips since the Saipan Tribune broke the story.
As of yesterday, Manalili said, the suspects have not been arrested yet as investigators are still building up the case.
Detectives are eyeing three men behind the burglary.
Sources said at least two suspects, including an ex-convict, are local residents of Koblerville. The third suspect is said to be a Palauan.
On Feb. 3, EMO acting director Gregorio A. Deleon Guerrero reported to DPS about the break-in that occurred at their storage room, which used to be occupied by the Marianas Public Lands Authority.
The disaster relief packages, worth $800 each, were reportedly among the 130 boxes donated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency when a supertyphoon battered the CNMI sometime in 1998.
