Aimed at enhancing contraband activities, the Customs Department has inducted a sniffer dog squad at the Cochin International Airport.
It is the first time that the Customs has got its own dog squad.
Two Labradors -- Alex and Cemna -- form the squad and have been specially trained to detect narcotics.
The dogs underwent training in Gwalior for a period of over six months.
The airport authorities have provided the infrastructure required for the squad.
“The dog squad provides the Customs a greater capability in preventing smuggling of narcotics,” said Customs Commissioner K N Raghavan.“We have been utilising the services of CISF dog squad. But the Customs and CISF use dogs for entirely different purposes. The CISF use dogs for detecting arms and ammunition, while Customs’ requirement is detecting contraband operations. The Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport has also inducted a dog squad,” he added. The dog squad was launched by Raghavan at a function which was attended by Navaz, Assistant Commissioner Amit Sharma, CIAL Director A C K Nair and CISF Commandant Shishir Kumar.