Police dog Stan sniffs out drugs in Bolton
Stan, a police sniffer dog, helped to bust nine revellers carrying illegal substances whilst out on the town in Bolton.
Officers from the local police force carried out inspections without warning last Friday to catch out people who were using and dealing in drugs in Bolton.
Stan, who is a pointer, underwent specialist dog training and will sit when he detects the scent of narcotics. The twelve man operation was hailed a success after the arrests.
The arrests included one person who had an offensive weapon about their person, possession of ecstasy with the intent to supply, seven various drug possession offences and a toilet attendant who turned out to be in the UK illegally and tried to escape when the officers showed up.
This is the only time that such an exercise has been carried out in Bolton, and police intend to use Stan’s talents over the Christmas period during Operation Sherry, which police say will aim to protect the safety of revellers over such a busy period.
Sergeant Paul Ellis, leader of the operation, commented:
“We considered this tactic before bringing it to Bolton, and the results tonight have shown that we were right in deploying it here.”
“We have taken a large amount of drugs off the streets, arrested a drugs dealer, detected other offences, and sent out a clear message that if you intend to supply or use drugs in Bolton town centre then you will be arrested and brought to justice.”
It is understood that many people were warned of the raid through social networking site Facebook, but Sgt Ellis warned that they will still be on the lookout for those carrying drugs.
