PDEA honors ‘hero’ dogs that detected shabu shipments

MANILA, Philippines — Three narcotics detection dogs (NDDs) were given medals yesterday for detecting the presence of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu hidden in two shipments of magnetic lifters last month.

Lala and Tala, both Belgian Malinois, were the ones that detected 355 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P3.4 billion, hidden in magnetic lifters seized at the Manila International Container Port on Aug. 7.

Odel, a six-year-old Belgian Malinois, detected the alleged presence of shabu in four empty magnetic lifters found in a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite on Aug. 10 – a finding questioned by the Bureau of Customs.

President Duterte said it is mere “speculation” that a ton of shabu, with a street value of P6.8 billion, had been released in the streets following the discovery of the empty lifters.

PDEA chief Aaron Aquino has stood by his agency’s drug-sniffing dogs and said the four empty magnetic lifters contained shabu despite testing negative for illegal drugs during a swab test. 

‘Prolific’

The agency considers Odel as one of its most prolific drug detectives. The dog has been able to detect P3.6 billion worth of illegal drugs through his four years in service, including 490 kilos of shabu, 14.26 kilos of liquid shabu and 56 kilos of cocaine, officials said.

The three dogs were among the 14 hero dogs honored in a ceremony in Antipolo, Rizal yesterday for their significant contribution in the fight against illegal drugs. The others were Kiefer, Happy, Gringo, Twinkle, Lovi, Lorent, Bella, Annie, Ella, Kyro and Olive.

The 14 dogs helped detect P8 billion worth of illegal drugs – among them thousands of kilos of shabu, 131 kilos of cocaine, 48 kilos of dried marijuana leaves and more than 26,000 tablets of ecstasy – at various terminals and ports.

The anti-narcotics agency also started the training of 100 newly hired handlers who will undergo a six-month basic course and help train newly procured NDDs.

The PDEA K9 unit currently has 71 working dogs.  Last month, the unit retired 13 drug-sniffing dogs and put them up for adoption.