It was a good first year for the Canine Unit of the Malta Customs Department, with its canines sniffing out over 15 kilos of drugs and over €270,000 in undeclared cash.

The Customs Canine Unit was launched late last September, following an investment by the Department as well as OLAF, under the Hercule III programme.

“The much needed Unit aimed at hampering the importation of illicit goods through our seaports and airports. Albeit new, and with the cadets still under intensive training, during the past ten  months the four-legged officials and their handlers managed to tally up  very positive results,” the department said on Thursday.

In fact, with six operational canines, the unit managed to locate and lead officials to the discovery of: €270,397 in undeclared cash; 15.6kg of narcotics, 44kg of tobacco, 97 cartons of undeclared cigarettes, 15kg of shisha and 1,791 tins of snus.

 “These results are the fruit of the hard training these canines, and their handlers,  undergo on a daily basis, and with more handlers and canines  approaching their training completion and operational status, there is  room for more improvement and a capitalisation on these results,” the Customs Department said.