THE long arm of the law has new weapons in the fight against drugs – a wet nose and waggly tail.
Western Rural Area Police are patrolling rural pubs and youth drinking dens with trained police sniffer dogs to seek out anyone in possession of drugs.
Last Friday they cautioned two men outside The Morris Dancer pub in Kelsall after the dog smelled cannabis in their car.
A police search revealed drugs paraphernalia and a small quantity of the drug.
The black Labrador also found a bag of cannabis that had been thrown into the middle of the recreation field near the pub.
Morris Dancer manager Jan Howarth said the men had not been inside the pub and were not connected to the pub in any way.
Officers noticed that in areas where drug use has been reported, people were less than happy to see the dog approach.
PC Matt Uren said: ‘We visited Hapsford Service Station and it was noticeable how people suddenly moved off in different directions.
‘We didn’t find any drugs there but, hopefully, users will be less likely to return now they know there is a possibility the dog will come round the corner.
‘The dog is trained to walk into crowded areas and seek out drugs. I believe this particular dog helped with a lot of drug seizures at the Creamfield event so it will be very useful for events like Kelsall Folk Festival.’
PC Uren said that when the sniffer dog senses a drug it ‘goes berserk’ so that officers can search the person.
