Kailali police has assigned two sniffer dogs at the Nepal-India border point in Trinagar to help border security force monitor the movement of people and goods entering the country during festival season.

There has been a massive influx of people at Trinagar border point these days. As many as 5,000 people—most of them migrant workers returning to their hometowns to celebrate Dashain—are entering the country via Trinagar, according to Police Sub Inspector Madan Bahadur Gurung.

In order to assist the border police in checking possible trafficking of contraband goods, drugs and weapons, the District Police Office has assigned the K-9s, Phuchhe and Raja, who specialise in narcotics and explosive detection as well as criminal identification.

Ramesh Thapa, a migrant worker returning home for Dashain, said, “We did not face any inconvenience at the border point, like we used to in the past, as police used sniffer dogs to inspect our belongings.”  

Thapa said security checking at the border used to be a time consuming process as security personnel would pat down every individual entering the country.

Last year, Nepal Police had established a Dog Section in Dhangadhi to maintain the security system. The section has four trained dogs.  Sub Inspector Madan Bahadur Gurung said these sniffer dogs help to track and identify criminals.

“The sniffer dogs are being used in the border areas after the District Police Office decided to maintain security at border crossings and control unlawful activities in view of the upcoming Dashain festival,” said Gurung.