Solo attempt at battling drugs

6:01pm Monday 30th June 2008

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Meet the latest weapon in the fight against drugs - coming to a workplace or school near you soon.

Unlike his cousins in the police force, Solo the springer spaniel is available for hire by private companies and venues to sniff out drugs and firearms.

The two-year-old dog is the latest recruit to Brighton security company Alpha Guard K9, owned by Niall Hastings.

While the pooch looks lovable enough with his flapping ears and wagging tail, the animal is a mean, lean, drug-busting machine with an extraordinary sense of smell.

Niall said: "To put things into perspective: a human has five million receptors that process scent, a dog has 225 million.

"An analogy of that is if you look at a computer screen and one pixel is out, your eyes are automatically drawn to it.

"With a dog their scent works in exactly the same way. They're drawn to that alien scent."

A trained dog like Solo has an estimated 98% accuracy rate for sniffing out drugs and firearms in buildings and vehicles.

But the problem of drug abuse is not just restricted to pubs, clubs and other workplaces.

Niall, a former door supervisor, has previously worked with schools on drug education programmes and said drug dogs are used in schools.

He said: "It's a sad thing to say but schools are considering the use of dogs like Solo because they have drug problems.

"We go round schools routinely once a month and support what the headteacher wants to do. With that information we can educate parents and say this is a good school'."

Alpha Guard K9 provides security dogs for a number of venues in Brighton. The Argus met up with Niall and Solo at the Brighton Centre, which the company uses for training.

During our demonstration it was clear that Solo clearly loved his work and Niall said the dog sees the entire hunt for drugs and firearms as a game.

Solo couldn't wait to be let off his leash with his nose ready to do the business.

Just moments after being set free, the dog was quickly checking out around walls and found the planted package, which contained a substance that imitates the smell of a cocktail of drugs.

Solo may do the sniffing all on his own, but he makes part of a formidable drug-busting team.

For more information about the company's work visit www.alphaguardk9.com.

To watch Solo at work in our video report, click here.