A MAN traveling from Saipan to Tinian was arrested and charged with possession of a contraband substance after a K-9 responded to a small pouch that belonged to him.
Rudolfo San Nicolas Borja, 52, appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Friday afternoon for a bail hearing.
Borja, a Tinian Department of Public Works heavy equipment operator, was represented by Assistant Public Defender Tyler Scott who asked the court to allow his client to post 10% of the $10,000 bail.
Assistant Attorney General Steven Kessel appeared for the government and opposed the defendant’s request.
After hearing from the parties, Judge Camacho granted Borja’s request and allowed him to be released after posting 10% of $10,000.
The judge also ordered Borja to return to court on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. for a preliminary hearing, and on Aug. 8 at 9 a.m. for an arraignment.
According to the complaint against Borja, on April 4, 2022, a detector dog handler and a K-9 conducted a routine inspection at the Saipan Commuter Airport on passengers destined for Tinian in the Star Marianas airline area.
During the routine inspection, the K-9 responded to a small pouch belonging to Borja.
Customs officers inspected the pouch and other belongings of Borja and discovered “several small clear Ziploc baggies containing white crystalline substance and drug paraphernalia.”
The officers conducted a field test on the crystalline substance on the small baggies and glass paraphernalia, and both yielded presumptive positive result for the presence of methamphetamine, the complaint stated.
