The prefect of the Côte-d’Or followed, this Thursday, July 20, the training of a police dog which recently led to a significant seizure of narcotics. “There was a national plan decided by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin to increase the number of dogs and dog handlers,” he said.
Barely taking office, Oxmo, a police dog specializing in the search for narcotics, recently made a good catch with the seizure of 22.5 kg of cannabis resin in an underground garage box in the Dijon agglomeration.
This Thursday, July 20, 2023, Franck Robine, prefect of the Côte-d’Or, went to congratulate the canine brigade of the Côte-d’Or and follow a demonstration of the skills of the new recruit.
The third largest police kennel in France
The canine brigade of the Côte-d’Or departmental public security department was created in the 1970s. On the outskirts of Dijon, it houses around fifteen dogs – including many Malinois Belgian shepherds – and has three dog handlers. In terms of area, it is the third largest police kennel in France.
Most dogs are recruited from a SPA. For ten years, dog handlers have favored dogs capable of playing so that the animal can experience the search for narcotics, explosives or banknotes as a sporting and playful activity.
Everything the animals need to learn is provided during specific training at the end of which they are joined by humans. The referent instructor then forms the pairs for the duration of an internship before validating it.
“It is a reinforcement that we had requested at the beginning of the year”
Only two dogs are currently in service in the department. Bruno Gallo, departmental director of public security in Côte-d’Or welcomes the arrival of Oxmo last March: “it gives us a second dog, it allows us to be even more effective in the fight against narcotics, (…) a priority for the DDSP of Côte-d’Or”.
“That’s what I really focused my efforts on: getting an additional dog,” says the prefect. “It is a reinforcement that we had requested at the beginning of the year. (…) It will bring higher activity.”
A national plan wanted by the Minister of the Interior
“There is a lot of drug trafficking, the more resources we have, the better. (…) There was a national plan decided by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin to increase the number of dogs and dog handlers”, explains the representative of the State.
“These are additional staff. [Les chiens] do police work. We enter a room and they are able to detect where the drug is so, thanks to them, we can, in a material way, establish that the drug is there, ”comments Franck Robine.
“Oxmo has been targeted at the national center as a super-performer”
“He is very, very strong,” enthuses Yvan, a police dog handler, about Oxmo, a three-year-old Dutch shepherd. “He was targeted at the national center as an overachievers.”
“He figured it all out on his own. (…) We skipped a lot of steps with him; for him, it’s logical, it’s easy. (…) Everything is in the game, in the softness, there is almost no constraint. (…) We can still teach him a lot of things”, considers Yvan.
Extracted from a farm, passed through a SPA before being recruited by the police
Oxmo was extracted from a breeding in the North which was the subject of a legal procedure so much the treatment reserved for the animals was deplorable. Handed over to a SPA in Troyes, the association came into contact with a National Police monitor in Lyon who tested and recruited him last February.
Since then, Yvan and Oxmo have carried out a dozen searches. “It’s a help for the investigation services, it saves time,” explains Yvan. “If we have a clear marking of the dog, it is recognized, it is legal, after it is the investigator who decides”, he adds. “It brings great legal certainty,” insists the prefect.
Oxmo also participates in patrol operations, particularly in trains. “He has proven himself,” notes Bruno Gallo. “The best training is work; the more he will work, the better he will be”, adds Yvan.
Seizure of 22 kg of cannabis, “a team effort”
The investigation is still in progress, Yvan can hardly reveal the circumstances of the seizure of 22.5 kg of cannabis, representing 180,000 euros on resale, carried out thanks to the flair of Oxmo.
“We had information on a place where it could possibly store,” he explains, however. “They were two underground garages. (…) Dogs can take through the box doors. (…) The goal was to pass through the outbuildings, which we have the right to do, to make the dog work on the doors. (…) I pointed out a door for him, he went to bed. (…) I make him work elsewhere, I make him come back, he notices a second time. (…) The investigators have done the work, we bring in the people who need to open. I make the dog work again inside, he finds a cardboard box buried at the bottom, hidden in plastic.
“It’s teamwork. We had information, the investigators want to work on it. We went to do a search at the gentleman’s house in the process, ”underlines Yvan. “That’s a lot of work!”
During other searches, Oxmo also found heroin, scales for weighing products for resale as well as empty pouches having transported narcotics.
The prefect participates in an Oxmo training
The canine brigade then offers a demonstration of Oxmo training. While the dog is still in his box, the prefect is invited by Major Fabrice Botte, deputy head of the canine brigade, to position cannabis resin, handled with pliers, in rooms simulating potential caches of drug traffickers.
Yvan then equips Oxmo with his harness and begins to guide him in his search through successive rooms. Each time, the dog quickly marks the location. Each of the discoveries is followed by a time of relaxation. “Congratulations to the dog handler”, launches Franck Robine at the end of the training.
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