Three dogs trained in the UK to sniff out illegal goods have started work with Bulgaria's Customs Agency. One is on duty at the port of Burgas, and the other two at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing and Sofia airport. The dogs were shown off at a ceremony at the British ambassador's residence in Sofia.
Two of them are cocker spaniels named Dewey and Merlin, and the third is a labrador named Luna.
"In diplomacy, we often talk about partnerships and call them close, strategic and long-term, but sometimes we get the chance not just to talk about them but to show what those words mean in practice. Today is one of those days," said British ambassador to Bulgaria Nathaniel Copsey. He said the dogs will work alongside their Bulgarian handlers to find illegal goods and help fight the criminal gangs behind them.
Copsey called the dogs' arrival another step in the partnership between the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and Bulgarian customs. No country can tackle the threat from criminal networks alone, he said. The answer, he said, lies in trust between people in the field, sharing information and running joint operations. Training front-line staff matters too. That is exactly what Bulgaria and the UK are doing together, the ambassador added, and the results are already showing. The strongest partnerships between countries rarely come from big gestures, he said — they grow step by step, as people work side by side and learn to trust each other.
Customs Agency director Nikolay Shushkov explained that the new dogs are part of the K-9 project, which the agency has run with the British crime-fighting agency for years. A dog called Adele is already working in Bulgaria, and Shushkov called her the most successful helper Bulgarian customs has ever had.
The dogs are trained to sniff out drugs, cash, rubber from small boats and weapons. From tomorrow they take up their new posts at Kapitan Andreevo, Sofia airport and the port of Burgas. Their training began in the UK and continued at Kapitan Andreevo with an instructor from the British services. The instructor rated both the handlers and the dogs' adjustment to conditions in Bulgaria very highly, Shushkov said.
The Customs Agency director also thanked the UK for the gift of two trailers, which will let the dogs travel comfortably as part of the mobile teams.