Detector dog teams bolster Pacific fight against organised crime

Five Pacific detector dog teams have graduated in New Zealand, strengthening the Pacific’s frontline defence against transnational organised crime.

The New Zealand Police and Customs Service hosted the graduation ceremony at the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham, where five handlers and their dogs completed an eight-week programme before returning home for further supervised training.

The graduation follows a funding increase announced in July that raised New Zealand’s investment in the Pacific Detection Dog Programme from $3.8 million to $6.7 million over five years, expanding the number of teams across Fiji, Tonga, and Sāmoa.

The expansion of Pacific dog units is a response to the growing flow of methamphetamines through the region, much of which is destined for Aotearoa. The new graduates include officers from the Fiji and Sāmoa Police, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, and Tonga Revenue and Customs.

The Pacific Detector Dog Programme (PDDP) launched in 2018 under the joint management of New Zealand Police and Customs, with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In a media statement, Inspector Todd Southall, National Coordinator of Police Dogs and PDDP Manager, says the training is part of a long-term partnership aimed at building regional policing capabilities.

“About 20 years ago, we started to work with some of the Pacific countries, initially the Cook Islands, Sāmoa, and Tonga. Later, Fiji and now French Polynesia and New Caledonia has been added this year,” Southall says.

Joe Cannon, New Zealand Customs’ Deputy Chief Executive for International and Governance, says the new teams will work across borders and communities to combat serious crime.

“The graduation of five new detector dog teams boosts our region’s capability to detect drugs, cash and firearms, and strengthens our collective response to transnational, serious and organised crime,” Cannon says.