K9 unit established at CNMI Dept. of Corrections

The CNMI Department of Corrections is in the early stages of establishing its own K9 unit in the battle against drugs. 

“The establishment of this will focus on deterrence and interdiction,” said CNMI DOC Commissioner Anthony Torres. 

The CNMI DOC is expanding its effort to stomp out drugs from the island’s prison. 

KUAM News went behind the scenes at DOC with officers part of its new K9 unit. In this training exercise, the K9 found hidden drugs in the visiting area that were placed there for the simulation.

DOC will continue to work with law enforcement agencies amid its renewed focus on establishing the unit in recent weeks.

“It's essentially going to cover anybody coming in here going through the visitation, that would probably have to go through that, through our K9. Right. Or when we're doing shakedowns in the units, vehicles that are parked over here around the facility. And now with parole coming under DOC, we would have that extra tool where we can assist our patrol officers in their operations when they're conducting home visits or random work visits as well. So we’re excited,” said Torres. 

Giovonni Taitingfong and John Pangelinan are the first officers assigned to the unit.

“My dog is dual purpose, meaning you could detect drugs and apprehend them if need be. So, you know…it's a good deterrent. God forbid if anybody was to be hostile in there, you know, my dog would be apprehending the individual. We are going to be constantly, you know, being proactive and fighting the war on drugs here,” said Taitinfong.