The Narrabri Police called on one of the state’s best drug detection dogs for help patrolling several major events in town over the weekend.
The four year old black Labrador, ‘Bev’, was busy on Saturday night searching for drugs at the rugby union grand final as well as several other locations around town.
Inspector Ned Gligorevic from the Narrabri Police Station says Bev found eight people carrying illegal substances.
“It was alarming the amount of drug detections that were found” Inspector Gligorevic said.
“The dog searched all eight people and found they were in possession of amphetamine based substances and cannabis.”
Bev graduated from a 12-week training course with the Sydney police force, before she was transferred to a permanent post in Dubbo.
Adam Johnston from the New South Wales Police Dog Squad says she excels in her field.
“When Bev underwent her initial training she was top of the class. Not all dogs are suitable, they need a lot of energy and drive to make the cut.”
Bev was joined on the weekend by General Purpose police dog, ‘Fyn’, a German Shepherd specialising in tracking and apprehending offenders.
Mr. Johnston says they work well as a team.
“While Bev was working, Fyn would have been relaxing in the back of the car, and vice versa.
“Their handler, Senior Constable Curtin, then took them both to the park for a break.”
Bev and Fyn service much of Western NSW, with local police units requesting their help on busy weekends.
Inspector Gligorevic says the people of Narrabri can expect to see more police dogs.
“Police are actively targeting this type of crime, and we’ll continue to do so on a regular basis. Overall the crowd was good on the weekend, it was a happy event for the town and we had a great result with the grand final win.”