RCMP dogs trained to sniff out fentanyl already put bite on crime

RCMP dogs from across the country are getting new training to detect fentanyl at a centre inInnisfail,Alta. and it's already helping put the bite on opioid suppliers, the force says.

The dogs are being taught to detect fentanylat the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail.

RCMP specialistsmake a diluted liquid-based form of the drug that the dogs can smell, and learn to recognize, without any risk of them ingesting it.

Theopioidhas already been responsible for hundreds of deaths in Alberta alone.

One of the three dog teams to take the new training so far has already intercepted 12,000 tabletsin B.C., the force says.

"I do believe the Canadian population is safer because of our new fentanyl dog training," Insp.AkrumGhadban, the officer in charge of the training centre, said in a news release.

"By keeping more fentanyl off the street, we save Canadian lives."

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The training of all 139 RCMP narcotics dog teams across Canada is expected to be completed by mid-July 2017.

"It is particularly efficient, making the dogs in the field extremely productive," says trainer Staff Sgt. Eric Stebenne.