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CUC safety officer arrested for alleged possession of ‘ice’
K-9 dog detects meth from defendant at commuter airport
A Commonwealth Utilities Corp. safety officer was arrested for alleged illegal possession of 13 gross grams of methamphetamine or “ice” after a Customs K-9 dog detected drugs during a routine inspection on passengers departing Saipan to Rota at the Commuter Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
Benjamin Jason Inos Manglona, 37, was arrested for illegal possession of controlled substance and trafficking of a controlled substance.
At a hearing yesterday, Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio imposed a $100,000 cash bail on Manglona and set the preliminary hearing for May 2 at 1:30pm.
Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit was appointed as counsel for Manglona. Assistant attorney general Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
Customs Officer III Maynard D. Reyes stated in his report that last Tuesday afternoon, Customs specialist 1 Mark Palacios conducted a routine K-9 inspection on passengers at the Commuter Airport and that K-9 dog Ben “responded” to passenger Manglona.
Two Customs officers instructed Manglona to proceed to the Customs arrival area for further inspection.
At the arrival area, Manglona was informed that the K-9 dog was trained to respond to drug odor.
Reyes said after asked if he had any drugs on him, the defendant took out a small plastic container containing a small glass pipe, believed to be a drug paraphernalia.
During the inspection of Manglona’s backpack, Reyes said he noticed three items wrapped in tissue.
Upon inspection of the tissue, Reyes said he discovered three small baggies containing 13 gross grams of crystalline substance that was later tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine.
The Drug Enforcement Task Force was then called for further investigation.
