Fighting drugs has gone to dogs

CARSON CITY -- Move over, McGruff. A new breed of canine crime-fighter is about to be unleashed on Nevada highways.

A half-dozen Nevada Highway Patrol troopers soon will be teamed with specially trained German shepherds. Their mission: to sniff out drugs and drug-tainted cash being trafficked along state highways.

In about six weeks, a chance encounter with Willie or Popeye could spell trouble for drug runners who use Nevada's highways and freeways to transport methamphetamine, other drugs and cash.

The program, which will emulate a successful Arizona drug-dog project, was approved recently by the Nevada Legislature's Interim Finance Committee.

It's an idea that has evolved in Nevada following Gov. Jim Gibbons' visit last year to the U.S.-Mexico border. The illegal transportation of drugs, particularly methamphetamine, was a major issue discussed with officials from other states during his visit.

Jerry Hafen, director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, told lawmakers that the Arizona program has had success in stemming the flow of illegal drugs.

It also has generated large sums of confiscated drug money.

Hafen said the main goal of the Nevada program, which initially will see two dogs being used in the north along Interstate 80 and four dogs being used in the south along Interstate 15 and other state highways, is to combat meth trafficking.

Methamphetamine now is produced for the most part in "super labs" in Mexico and transported by private vehicle to Nevada communities, Hafen said.

He said meth use has reached pandemic levels in Nevada, and that young people living in rural communities are especially at risk.

"The outcome will be, of course, to slow down and interdict drugs coming into our communities (and) slow down and interdict the cash that is coming out of our communities and going to Mexico," he said.

The K-9 program is expected to generate large amounts of both cash and illegal drugs once it gets under way, he said.

Hafen noted that a Nye County sheriff using a drug dog earlier this month found $750,000 in cash in a hidden compartment in a vehicle near Beatty. The money was confiscated.

A new organization, State of Nevada Friends for K-9, has recently formed and plans to donate two trained dogs to the program to get it started. The cost of acquiring and training a drug dog runs to $20,000.

Jim Denton, a member of the board of directors of the new nonprofit group, said it was formed to establish a public-private partnership to support a drug dog program in Nevada.

"It's good for the state and the people of the state," he said of the program. "We have a serious problem with drugs coming through our state. We're trying to contribute to addressing that problem."

Denton said the group's nonprofit status is being finalized. An announcement on its support of the program will be coming shortly, he said.

Denton said the group ultimately would like to support as many as 25 drug dogs in the state. It will also seek funds to provide protective vests for the dogs.

Jean Gagnon, deputy chief of investigations for the Public Safety Department, told lawmakers that when a vehicle suspected as a potential drug courier is stopped by one of the officers for what is typically a routine traffic violation, the drug dog will be used to perform a "perimeter sniff."

That type of search has been upheld in court decisions, he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court said in a 6-2 ruling in 2005 that a police officer's use of a drug dog to sniff for the presence of illicit drugs during a lawful traffic stop is constitutionally permissible, even if there are no specific facts to suggest drug activity.

Gagnon said that if the dog detects the odor of meth or some other illegal drug such as cocaine or marijuana, the trooper will then search the vehicle for drugs or cash.

Cash is commonly found because the dog picks up on drug residue in the car, he said.

Lawmakers were told there will be no new positions created within the Nevada Highway Patrol for the program. Instead, the dogs will be teamed with existing officers, who will get a pay boost, probably 5 percent, to cover the time needed to exercise and otherwise take care of their new partners.

Lawmakers looking for new revenue streams to help the beleaguered state budget won't be able to access any seized cash, however.

Gagnon said federal guidelines dictate how the seized drug money can be used. The funds are mostly aimed at further reducing illegal drug production, transportation and use.

The Arizona program started about a decade ago with six dogs and now uses 23 canines.

"They have been very successful in interfering with the flow of meth into their state," Gagnon said. "That is what we would like to do here with this program."

Lt. Angel Leos, unit commander for the Arizona K-9 program, said if success is measured by seizures of drugs, money and weapons, then the state is doing well.

In 2007, the program confiscated 1,100 pounds of cocaine, 240 pounds of meth, $4 million in currency and large amounts of other illegal drugs, he said.

The program, which started in 1991 with just a few animals, is expanding to 25 dogs and could use more, Leos said.

"We have seized more and more drugs every year," he said. "We are very successful doing it. Unfortunately, we don't have all the highways covered."

Contact Capital Bureau writer Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.