FRANKLIN R. Babauta, special assistant for CNMI Homeland Security Emergency Management, said two Commonwealth-registered boats captained by residents were involved in illegally transporting Chinese individuals to Guam.
At a press briefing Monday afternoon at his office, Babauta told reporters that the vessels were launched from Saipan.
CNMI HSEM and the Office of the Governor announced Friday that 27 Chinese nationals were intercepted upon their unauthorized arrival on Guam within the last two weeks.
According to Babauta, six of the individuals were intercepted on Guam on June 11.
“There were some people in the beach area, and saw them, and that’s when the residents made the report and called Guam customs, and Guam customs responded to the location, started looking for the six individuals and found them,” he said.
On June 21, 21 individuals were also intercepted in the same area, Babauta added.
Asked whether the 27 Chinese individuals had been detained, Babauta said, “They were interviewed in Guam, and they are being monitored. They [the authorities] know where [the individuals] are.”
As for the two captains of the vessels, Babauta said he has no information whether they will be charged.
“We are communicating with [the authorities] about the case. Nothing has happened yet…they are still working on [it] with our local investigators…and with other federal agencies,” he added.
Citing ongoing investigation, Babauta declined to say whether the illegal transporting of the individuals was conducted by a group.
Babauta said he also cannot provide information on what type of arrangement, transactional or otherwise, that the boat captains had with the Chinese individuals who were transported from Saipan to Guam.
He declined to identify the boat captains.
He is encouraging the public to report any suspicious incidents or individuals by “calling the police — call 911, and let them know what you saw, and we will take care of it.”
He noted that the captains of the vessels did not report their entry to Guam as required by law. “They know what they were doing, they know it’s illegal to transport individuals from one area to another area, especially to another jurisdiction that requires customs approval and permits to enter….”
Babauta said the 27 intercepted individuals told investigators that “they were there [in Guam] to look for jobs.”
He said the authorities want to “discourage others who are thinking of the same thing by going to this route. We want them to stop illegal human trafficking…. We received the information from Guam…. We also have an obligation in our area to respond and take action from our side to prevent these things from happening again in the future,” Babauta said.
Last year, 18 Chinese nationals, believed to have no valid U.S. visas, were charged in federal court for illegally entering Guam by boat.
According to Variety news files, 10 of them had pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
Franklin R. Babauta, special assistant for CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management, poses for a photo during an interview at his office on Monday.
