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Dirt Bikes Seized by RI Police to Aid Dominican Republic Police

In the past, the city of Providence has destroyed the nuisance dirt bikes and ATVs it confiscated from criminals caught illegally operating the machines on local streets.

It was quite dramatic.

But then Rhode Island resident Ibn-Hashim Bakari had an idea.

Why not keep the machines in good condition and use them where they can help people?

The place Bakari had in mind was the Dominican Republic, a region that benefits from the aid and intercultural opportunities provided by an organization he founded in 2009, Lights & Sirens International.

Bakari recalls that the idea was met with sharp criticism from some who did not want it.

Some claimed that criminals would steal the machines and that their presence in the Caribbean country, which shares a large island, Hispaniola, with Haiti, would not provide any public services, citing problems with corruption.

But on Thursday, Bakari was pleased to confirm that 17 of the 21 machines had survived the journey from Rhode Island to the country’s capital, Santo Domingo.

Each of the 17 dirt bikes and four ATVs remains in good hands

Four of the 21 devices were still in transit and under the inspection of customs officials, Bakari said.

The other 17, he said, were lined up outside the main entrance of a Dominican National Police transport facility, where police officials held a news conference on Thursday.

An international treaty on dirt bikes and ATVs negotiated by Rhode Islanders and Dominicans

Shipping the dirt bikes and ATVs to the Dominican Republic was the goal of a pact Bakari helped negotiate.

Officials from Cranston and Providence agreed to deliver the equipment to the Dominican National Police, and the Dominican agency agreed to pay for the shipping.

Bakari said he had purchased the lock for the container and tracked the shipment.

Attaching police reports to an overseas shipment

Because the machines had been seized, Rhode Island authorities had no ownership papers, Bakari said.

Instead of proof of ownership, he said, authorities provided police reports to customs officials who inspected the ATVs in both the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Bakari has been in close contact with a leader of the Dominican National Police, Colonel Roberto Lerebours, who regularly works with U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the New York Police Department.

Lerebours was present in March when Rhode Island officials, including Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins and Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist, solemnly announced the planned shipment.

That day, the seized machines were loaded into the container.

On Thursday, Lerebours was at the other end of the trip in Santo Domingo, Bakari said. Also present was Gen. Latif Madfoud, whose responsibilities for the national police include transportation.

Bakari said Dominican police have promised to provide photos of each bicycle after it is marked with police markings and assigned a number.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said Thursday that he spoke with Lerebours during the trial and got to know him a little.

Desired in Santo Domingo; despised in Providence

Perez, who emigrated from Colombia and has visited the Dominican Republic, has some familiarity with the terrain-related challenges facing police officers in regions around the equator.

He says ATVs and dirt bikes can provide essential mobility and help police stay visible in rough terrain.

“It’s a more practical choice,” he added.

A more practical option for Dominican police officers, but not an option for thrill seekers in Providence and Cranston.

“These illegal ATVs are being confiscated and used for something else,” Perez said.