US Customs to use chemicals sniffer dogs at US entry points

Airline Industry Information, June 9, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has begun placing dogs trained to sniff out deadly chemicals at entry points.

The bureau, which oversees approximately 300 points of entry, is introducing the dogs at airports, seaports and other US entry points. The dogs have been trained to detect various "signature odours" associated with a range of deadly chemicals, including sarin gas, nerve gas and cyanide, that might be hidden in containers or other objects that terrorists try to smuggle past customs.

Dogs trained to detect the substances include Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and Belgian Malinois. Training began about a year ago, prompted by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

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