New Zealand Customs has stopped training its sniffer dogs to detect cannabis at the border and no longer has any available for the job.
Stuff reports the border protection agency stopped the training in 2017, instead focusing on drugs like methamphetamine and MDMA and large quantities of cash.
Acting chief customs officer for the detector dog unit Tiffany Duke said dogs were an important part of border security, with X-rays and electronic searches also playing a role, but that their focus was on organised crime.
“The focus of our dog detector unit is to locate commodities at the border which will disrupt organised crime and the supply of illicit drugs, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as prevent the social harm caused by these substances.”
She added most cannabis in the country is believed to be produced domestically.
Since 2017, 132kg of cannabis leaf and 42kg of oil have been found by Customs at mail centres and airports.
Corrections and police officers both still use sniffer dogs to detect the drug.
