DEA looking into frisking incident

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has assured the CNMI government that it is looking into the alleged mistreatment of 147 Chinese tourists, who were made to go through a drug search upon arriving at Saipan International Airport on Oct. 3.

Timothy J. Landrum, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, told Gov. Benigno R. Fitial in an e-mail yesterday that he had directed his staff to conduct “a complete and full review” of the incident.

Landrum also called for a continued partnership between the DEA and local law enforcers in combating narcotics in the Commonwealth. He made this appeal after Fitial, following the airport search incident, withdrew local customs and police officers from a DEA-CNMI task force.

Recalling his recent visit to the CNMI, Landrum said he was “extremely impressed with the true partnership that exists between all our law enforcement agencies and members within the community.” He added, “I also know that we are having a positive impact in our communities and will continue to work with our partners in the fight against illegal drugs. Partnerships are a priority of mine and appreciate all the support your departments provide.”

Fitial in a press conference yesterday said he is pleased that DEA is investigating the issue. “But I will be more satisfied when the review is complete,” he said.

Landrum’s e-mail came in response to the governor’s call for an investigation into the Oct. 3 incident, where 147 of 187 arriving passengers on a Shanghai Airlines flight were subjected to intensive body searches at the Saipan airport. Tour operators report that agents corralled the passengers—all Chinese—into a small room and searched even the most private parts of their bodies, in addition to checking every piece of luggage they carried.

The DEA has said it was acting on a tip. Although the searches yielded no illegal drugs, some contraband items such as illegal plant and animal products were reportedly intercepted during the operation.

The Chinese tourists were upset by the episode, and some of them filed complaints with the Chinese government. The incident also made front-page news in China, including in the major cities of Beijing and Shanghai, where many of the CNMI’s Chinese visitors come from.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles wrote the Marianas Visitors Authority to express concern about the alleged discrimination committed against Chinese tourists during the DEA-initiated operation.

The consulate, according to consul Yang Lianchun, “is worried about the unequal treatments which the Chinese nationals get in your district and hopes the routine administration of government does not influence the normal exchanges between the two countries and ensure the equal treatments to Chinese nationals there in an appropriate manner in the future.”