Crime rates significantly down in Tukwila following motel raids

It was August when a federal S.W.A.T. tank rolled down International Boulevard in Tukwila, and local police and federal agents raided and seized three motels. In the months since, the city has seen a significant drop in crime.

Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan and Tukwila Police Chief Mike Villa told a news conference Tuesday that in the six months following the seizure, violent crime dropped 49 percent and robberies across the city were down 18 percent over the same period the year before.

“If you look at the period of time following this operation compared to the year before, calls of service – that’s the number of times police are called out for trouble – dropped 28 percent,” added Durkan.

Between 2011 and 2012, 17 percent of the calls the Tukwila Police Department responded to were related to the three motels, The Great Bear Motor Inn, Boulevard Motel and Travelers Choice Motel. There were reports of rape, robbery, assault, drug transactions, gun crimes, prostitution, and possession of stolen property.

According to Durkan, it was clear the motel owners were responsible for the crime inside their motels.

“They were people willing to profit on the backs of those most vulnerable – addicts and the like,” Durkan said.

The owner of one of the motels, 42-year-old Kulwinder Saroya, of Sea-Tac, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to a year in prison after pleading guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises. Two other defendants are due to be sentenced in April.

Before the August raid, undercover officers revealed that the motel owners and managers collected a $10 entry free for customers seeking drugs or sexual services. They’d point them to the appropriate room and give the dealer or prostitute a warning about a potential customer.

MyNorthwest.com’s Alyssa Kleven and the Associated Press contributed to this report.