Smugglers had better think twice before passing through Tokyo’s Narita airport with stashes of cash, lest they encounter Japan’s first pair of banknote detection dogs – which reported for duty last week, Japan’s public broadcaster reported.
The dogs, both labrador retrievers, have been trained to sniff out large quantities of banknotes hidden in travellers’ luggage. They demonstrated their talents at Narita airport last Thursday, identifying a suspect piece of luggage out of a line-up in about 60 seconds, according to NHK World Japan News.
Under Japanese law, anyone entering or exiting the country with cash amounting to one million yen (US$6,800) or more is required to declare it to customs agents.
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The head of the Tokyo Customs Enforcement Division, Ueda Kenji told NHK that the airport’s sniffer dogs had impressive mobility. “[They] can easily move to different places and help inspectors check luggage on the spot,” he said.
The dogs have been introduced to Narita Airport to combat money laundering. It’s understood there will eventually be currency detector dogs operating across Japan, though further details have not been provided.
Drug detector dogs are already active across Japan’s airport’s. One of them, a labrador named Melba, achieved celebrity status in 2019 after identifying a 30 kilogram stash of illegal narcotics in the suitcases of a traveller arriving at Narita Airport from Montreal, Canada. The drugs had an estimated street value of US$11.85 million. The South China Morning Post reported that Melba retired from service earlier this year, at eight-years-old.
