Dog squad expanded

JAKARTA (JP): Thirteen dogs have been added to the sniffer dogs squad of the Customs and Excise Office's narcotics division.

The 13 dogs have been trained for 15 weeks by instructors from the office, assisted by experts from the United States.

The office has also finished training 10 dog handlers to step up vigilance against drug trafficking, Antara reported.

Director General of the Indonesian Customs and Excise Office Soehardjo said after closing the course yesterday that given its strategic geographic location, Indonesia is prone to drug trafficking.

Over the past six months, the office has foiled 18 smuggling attempts of narcotics and other illegal drugs, seizing 199,116 Ecstasy pills, 65 grams of cocaine and 1.3 kg of heroin, Soehardjo said. (bas)