By TIOL News Service

MUMBAI, DEC 04, 2013: THE CBEC's latest recruit, a sniffer dog named Aniy, yesterday helped Customs officials catch a woman passenger trying to smuggle 16 kg of ephedrine, valued at Rs 3.20 crore, out of the country.

Aniy, who joined the customs’ Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) barely two months ago, dragged its handler in the direction of the passenger, when she was checking in to board an Ethiopian airlines flight at around 4.30 am at the city airport’s international terminal.

A search of her baggage revealed the presence of ephedrine. It had been concealed it in cardboard packets which were wrapped in laces to avoid suspicion. Potgieter was arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Ephedrine is a central nervous system depressant also used in cough syrups and as a sleep-inducing substance. Officials said a non-commercial quantity of the drug, covered under the NDPS Act, can be carried only by those licensed to do so.

AIU officials said Aniy sniffed the drug even though it was not actually sniffing the bag - as dogs usually do - but was at a distance of about 20 feet from the passenger. “Aniy was alert and ran towards the passenger with such force that the handler holding the dog’s strap fell,” an official said.

Aniy, part of the AIU’s squad of five sniffer dogs, is just one-year-old and had joined the unit recently after completing training at the Border Security Force (BSF) centre at Tekkanpur in Gwalior..

Officials said the passenger, has a South African passport and had come to India nearly six months ago. She had reportedly stayed in Delhi but had chosen to board the flight from Mumbai so that detection would not be easy in case the authorities tried to trace her movements.

“Potgieter was only a carrier who was to be paid for carrying the consignment and handing it over to someone at the airport in Ethiopia. We are investigating further to find more leads in the case,” an official said.

ANIY THE SNIFFER DOG

Aniy, who is just one-year-old, joined the Air Intelligence Unit’s squad of sniffer dogs only two months ago after undergoing training at the Border Security Force’s centre at Tekkanpur, Gwalior.

Usually, dogs catch drugs when they are made to sniff bags. Aniy was at a distance of 20 feet from the passenger when it sniffed ephedrine and dragged its handler in the passenger’s direction.