One of America’s most valuable defenders against fentanyl trafficking at the Mexico border uses his nose to root out illicit drugs, an old-school technique that authorities say is a key to reducing the flow of deadly synthetic opioids.
Goose, an enthusiastic Golden Retriever, weaves through a sea of idling cars on a warm afternoon at San Diego’s massive legal border crossing, one of the most transited in the world with roughly 100,000 people entering the U.S. each day.
Despite millions of dollars in technology that allows CBP to scan vehicles and data analytics that help target possible smugglers, a dog’s sense of smell remains a vital tool for uncovering fentanyl and other narcotics.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that was approved by U.S. authorities for use as an anesthetic in 1968, but a spike in clandestine production and fatal overdoses in the past decade has made it a priority for law enforcement and health providers.
An estimated 75,000 people, opens new tab died from synthetic opioid overdoses in 2023, mostly involving fentanyl, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vast majority of CBP fentanyl seizures occur at legal border crossings in Arizona and California, according to CBP statistics. Most convicted fentanyl traffickers in recent years have been, opens new tab U.S. citizens, U.S. Sentencing Commission figures show.
CBP Office of Field Operations canines have been involved with seizing more than 63,000 pounds [28,576 kg] of fentanyl since the program started, according to agency statistics.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat running for another term in Nov. 5 elections, has called on Republicans in Congress to increase funding for border security, including counter-fentanyl efforts at legal border crossings. CBP officials say the funding could help expand the use of canines, which includes a pilot program that has trained six dogs to smell for “precursor” chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Sidney Aki, the CBP field office director for the San Diego area, worked as a canine handler at the start of his career in the 1990s. Speaking to Reuters at the San Ysidro port of entry in late May, he said the dogs operated in conjunction with scanners and data analytics to root out fentanyl and other contraband.
“Of course, if we had more canines, if we had more personnel partnered up with canines, we would continue to do more and more,” he said.
STRONG MOTIVATION
At CBP’s canine academy in Front Royal, Virginia, customs officers from around the country are paired with their new four-legged partners, part of a four- to six-month process to teach the dogs to seek out contraband.
The drug-sniffing dogs are trained to detect six substances: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy and fentanyl, initially by filling chew toys with “pseudo-narcotics” that smell like the actual drug.
“That toy, that’s all they’re thinking about,” said Donna Sifford, the academy’s director, during an exclusive tour of the facility in mid-June. “When they smell those odors and sit, all they want to do is play with that toy.”
The academy – located on a picturesque 300-acre property in the Shenandoah River Valley – has training areas that simulate what will become the dogs’ real-world work environments, including an airport baggage screening room, mail room conveyor belt and an outdoor parking lot with dozens of dusty cars.
The dogs tend to be German Shepherds, Labradors, Dutch Shepherds and German Shorthaired Pointers, Sifford said. Goose is one of three Golden Retrievers in the program.
“When we’re selecting the dogs to go down to the southwest border, we’re looking for the higher-drive dogs that we know can actually work in that environment and maintain that pace,” she said.
‘BEST TECHNOLOGY’
Dogs have a sense of smell that is exponentially more powerful than humans with up to 200 times more olfactory receptors, according to a 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroscience.
Dogs can rapidly sweep through vehicle traffic, search suspicious cars and check lines of passengers. They are particularly useful for uncovering fentanyl, which can be moved in small quantities as pills or powder.
“They’re like biosensors,” said Michael Gould, a founding member of the New York City Police Department’s canine unit who now works as an expert witness in legal cases involving police dogs. “It’s really the best technology that’s available.”
The dogs do have limitations. They can typically only be out searching vehicles or people for about 20 minutes in warmer weather before they need a break, officials said. Drug-sniffing canines can also send false alarms, with studies showing a range of effectiveness.
And while CBP’s fentanyl seizures increased in recent years, the agency only appears to intercept a small percentage coming into the U.S.
