During a trip to the Pet Relocation Conference in Seoul last April, Boonma Global Pet Mobility Director Tiddy S Teerawit took time out to visit the Detector Dog Training Centre at the city’s Incheon Airport.

The centre handles around 90 dogs and is operated by the Korean Customs Service. Most of the dogs are Labradors of between 1 and 9 years of age and will mainly support the country’s fight against the illegal importation of drugs.

The training centre is equipped with the latest facilities and training programmes as well as top-tier instructors committed to protecting the public from drugs and terrorist threats.

According to the centre’s Chief, Mr Pae Soung Tae, there are three methods being used to detect drugs at major international airports around the world: human beings, x-ray machines and dogs. Surprisingly, the last is the most powerful tool in the search for hidden drugs.

The Korean Customs Service says it has successfully cloned seven Labrador retrievers for service. For now, the dogs all share the same name, ‘Toppy’, a combination of the words tomorrow and puppy.

Photos: (top left) Tiddy S Teerawit of Boonma at the training centre; (below) detector dog on duty at Seoul Airport.