Beagle Bébé bags bad boys
PHUKET: Two men ended up in the clink on Sunday after the keen nose of beagle Bébé found drugs hidden in their car.
Wednesday 29 June 2011, 07:15AM
Bébé – who is just eight months old – belongs to Muang District Chief Supachai Pochanukul, who at the weekend was involved in stepped-up crime suppression in the run-up to next Sunday’s general election.
As part of the drive, police and government officials set up a check point on Chao Fah East Rd, in front of Suan Luang Park, to search for items that might be used to commit crimes.
During the check, officers’ suspicions were aroused by two men in a black Toyota Vios saloon. The car was stopped and searched but nothing was found.
Nothing, that is, until Mr Supachai sent Bébé in to check things out. Bébé knows what she is doing – she has received four months’ training in detecting drugs. She quickly located small sachets of methamphetamine (ya ba) and crystal methamphetamine (ya ice) hidden under the back seat.
The two men in the Toyota – Suwit Chaikhaothong, 30, from Krabi, and Supachai Jamnongrit, 28, from Phuket – confessed that the drugs belonged to them, but swore that they were for personal consumption, not for sale.
Mr Supachai said Bébé and another dog, a pit-bull called Booboo, were trained to help find illegal items, especially drugs.
“Using the dogs helps us officers to improve our work efficiency and also help us when the Alpha-6 drug detection machine fails – sometimes the machine cannot detect small quantities of drugs. I use the beagle because she is small and energetic. She’s a great help,” he said.
