Customs is today joining with fellow border and enforcement agencies worldwide in recognising the invaluable contribution detector dogs make to protecting borders and communities from harm as part of International Dog Day.
For more than 50 years, detector dogs have played a vital role in Customs’ daily operations. Each year, Customs detector dogs and their handlers successfully detect hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs from Customs’ operational facilities, and millions of dollars in undeclared cash at airports.
Customs Director International, Michael Blades says New Zealand’s detector dog programme continues to thrive with strong domestic and international partnerships remaining essential to strengthening enforcement capabilities with neighbouring agencies in the Pacific.
“Since its establishment in 2018, the Pacific Detector Dog Programme has supported Pacific nations to strengthen their frontline responses and develop enduring enforcement capability,” said Mr Blades.
“Enhancing enforcement capability in the Pacific is critical to maintaining a secure and resilient region in the face of growing transnational, serious, and organised crime threats.”
Jointly delivered by New Zealand Police and Customs, with funding support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the programme builds operational capability by training detector dog teams from across the region.
“Detector dogs are a vital enforcement tool in the fight against transnational, serious and organised crime syndicates that continue to target Pacific nations. Wherever illicit goods are found, criminal activity is never far behind, and our Pacific Detector Dogs are expertly trained to detect and disrupt these threats, stamping out the possibility of it getting to our own shores,” said Mr Blades.
In an added boost, funding for the Pacific Detector Dog Programme is increasing to $6.7 million for the next five-year period, up from $3.8 million from the 2018 to 2025 period.
