MVA: Robberies hurt the CNMI

The Marianas Visitors Authority has expressed alarm over a spate of robberies in the CNMI, prompting it to warn tourists against visiting Marpi alone.

“It’s just so disturbing. These tourists are very trusting and they know that the people here are known for being friendly. These [armed robbers] pretend that they are friendly but they have ulterior motives. It is disturbing for us at MVA,” said MVA managing director Chris Concepcion.

Concepcion cited the armed robbery incident on Mother’s Day, which was caught on video and had gone viral among tourists. The suspect, who is now in custody, reportedly took advantage of the friendly image of the CNMI by offering to take pictures of the tourists before snatching a pink backpack containing a cellphone, $900 cash, three passports, and two credit cards.

The robbery happened near Banzai Cliff in Marpi.

An earlier case, which reportedly occurred at the Bird Island Lookout, tells of two women sightseeing aboard a rented vehicle. One of two male suspects grabbed the woman’s cellphone before fleeing by car.

Prior to the Bird Island incident, another incident occurred at the Grotto. Five tourists were reportedly sightseeing and had parked their SUV when about three to four male suspects, one armed with a machete, robbed them of $100, credit cards, and cellphones, among other items, before fleeing by car.

Due to the spike in criminal activity in the Marpi area, MVA has issued a statement saying that Marpi, one of the islands’ iconic sights, may be a safety hazard “if [tourists] visit alone.”

MVA has been paying for security in Marpi, specifically at Banzai Cliff, Grotto, Bird Island, and Suicide Cliff from 8am to 5pm. Since the incident last Sunday, Concepcion has sent a request to the security company to “beef up security in order to deter criminal activity [in the area].”

Security personnel document all the vehicles that go in and out these areas, including the number of tourists.

Statistics from MVA suggests that 31,810 tourists visited the Banzai Cliff in March while the Bird Island Lookout had about 33,000 tourists.

“We want to reassure our visitors that the CNMI is safe,” Concepcion said.

He also praised the swift arrest made in the Mother’s Day incident and expressed his gratitude to the Department of Public Safety. According to Concepcion, he hopes that other cases may be solved as soon as possible as well.

“We want to thank the people over at DPS for quickly finding the perpetrators involved. We hope that they do further investigations so that the other crimes that were just recently committed besides the one on Mother’s Day are also solved,” he said.

“It sends a bad image to our source countries When these types of incidents happen, they go viral. Once this hits social media…we are very concerned about that because once it is out there in cyberspace, there is just no way of controlling it. So we want to ask for everybody’s active involvement in these kinds of situations. [If you] know, see, or hear anything, please speak up. It is important that crimes like these are prevented. If they do happen, it is more important that the [suspects] get caught and are apprehended,” he added.

MVA hopes that further investigations have been made. One common denominator for the robberies is the involvement of cars as getaway vehicles. This suggests that there is a driver waiting for the robbers to return. Driving the getaway vehicle makes the driver an accessory to the crime, which is criminal offense and is also subject to penalties.

Concepcion stressed that the CNMI solely relies on the tourism industry, an industry extremely sensitive to security issues.

“Without these tourists coming in, there really is no economy to speak of,” he said. “I am hopeful that this is a rare occurrence and that there will be less and less crimes going on. We are continuing with our daily monitoring of a security presence at the sites.”

“There has to be a sense of safety and security here because it sends a negative image of the CNMI,” added Concepcion.