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Airport drug duty going to the dogs
Source: Xinhua |
January 15, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA for first time has started using dogs to sniff for drugs on flights to Beijing.
The canines have been put to work at Terminal 3 of Beijing's Capital International Airport.
Wearing uniforms and leather shoes, two Labrador retrievers, Weite and Haige, boarded a plane from the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Traffickers hiding drugs leave a distinct smell on their seats that is detectable for up to two hours. The dogs can detect the smell with 100 percent accuracy, said Yan Haiqun, deputy head of the Beijing Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau.
"Labrador retrievers are friendly to people. Their noses are enormously accurate," he said.
When the dogs detect a suspicious scent, officials can check the suspect before he or she leaves the airport.
The check starts after all the passengers leave the plane and usually lasts only 10 minutes.
Passengers can leave the airport without having to wait for the results, Yan said.
"We dress the dogs to prevent their hair from falling on the seats or the carpet. Their shoes help protect the seat covers and other objects from claw damage," he said.
"I have not heard of any other countries using drug-sniffer dogs on planes."
Beijing Customs has trained 15 sniffing dogs since 1996 to patrol airports, railway stations and post offices, and has seized 31 kilograms of drugs.
Drug smuggling via human bodies and luggage has been increasing in recent years in Beijing's airports, Yi said.
China used more than 200 explosive-sniffing dogs during the Beijing Olympics to help security.
The dogs were also trained for anti-drug and rescue missions for fires and anti-terrorist operations.
The canines have been put to work at Terminal 3 of Beijing's Capital International Airport.
Wearing uniforms and leather shoes, two Labrador retrievers, Weite and Haige, boarded a plane from the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Traffickers hiding drugs leave a distinct smell on their seats that is detectable for up to two hours. The dogs can detect the smell with 100 percent accuracy, said Yan Haiqun, deputy head of the Beijing Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau.
"Labrador retrievers are friendly to people. Their noses are enormously accurate," he said.
When the dogs detect a suspicious scent, officials can check the suspect before he or she leaves the airport.
The check starts after all the passengers leave the plane and usually lasts only 10 minutes.
Passengers can leave the airport without having to wait for the results, Yan said.
"We dress the dogs to prevent their hair from falling on the seats or the carpet. Their shoes help protect the seat covers and other objects from claw damage," he said.
"I have not heard of any other countries using drug-sniffer dogs on planes."
Beijing Customs has trained 15 sniffing dogs since 1996 to patrol airports, railway stations and post offices, and has seized 31 kilograms of drugs.
Drug smuggling via human bodies and luggage has been increasing in recent years in Beijing's airports, Yi said.
China used more than 200 explosive-sniffing dogs during the Beijing Olympics to help security.
The dogs were also trained for anti-drug and rescue missions for fires and anti-terrorist operations.
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