Police Plan to Expand K9 with 38 Additions

Plans to add 12 trackers, 17 explosive sniffers, 6 narcotic sniffers, 2 cadaver dogs, 1 alcohol sniffer

- Shan A S & Varsha Somaraj @T'Puram

The state police will soon add more teeth to its canine unit, better known as the K9 squad, by drafting 38 dogs of various breeds, with nearly half of the new additions intended to be used for detecting explosives and narcotics.

An expert committee will take a final call on the proposal that has been submitted by the State Dog Training School to the State Police Headquarters and the state police chief, sources said. The K9 squad currently has 142 active dogs and the proposal, if accepted in its entirety, will augment the strength to 180.