A drug-smuggling attempt at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison was thwarted recently, with detector dog Tui on the case.

On 8 January Tui and her handler Todd were doing routine checks of visitors, along with Corrections Officer Kelsey, when Tui’s keen sense of smell noticed something was off.

Tui indicated to Todd that she’d smelled drugs on a visitor. The visitor said she had tobacco, but no drugs.

Todd knew this was likely not the case because Tui, who turns three in July, is highly trained to find several types of drugs.

A search commenced and small packages were found concealed on the visitor. The team called Police, who took the woman into custody.

Police confirmed the packages contained cannabis, methamphetamine, cannabis oil and tobacco. The 45-year-old woman was charged with a number of drugs-related charges.

Manager Detector Dogs Jay Mills says detector dogs are a crucial part of keeping drugs out of prisons.

“As demonstrated by Tui, our dogs are exceptionally skilled in tracking down contraband and stopping it getting into our sites. Detector dogs are highly trained to sniff out various illicit drugs, as well as cell phone components and tobacco products.

“People will go to all sorts of lengths to conceal contraband to bring these into our prisons, but our dog teams are constantly working to stay one step ahead.

“Drugs can create a more dangerous working environment for our staff, and prevent prisoners from engaging in rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities. Well done to Tui and Todd for their recent catch and stopping these drugs coming into the prison.”

A range of methods are used at prisons across New Zealand to prevent drugs, weapons, cell phones and other prohibited items from entering. They include 24 detector dog teams, x-ray technology, telephone monitoring of prisoner calls and single points of entry to sites.

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