Detection dogs sniff out success

A County Down company which trains specialist sniffer dogs has won lucrative contracts with police forces in Asia and Europe.

Downpatrick-based ACT Detection Dogs has signed deals in Singapore and Italy to provide dogs trained to detect items including guns, drugs, money and counterfeit DVDs.

The new contracts followed a £125,000 investment by ACT to increase its export marketing activities, recruit additional management support and develop its dog training facilities.

The investment, supported by Invest NI, allowed the company to boost its online presence, produce publicity material and arrange visits from international police force representatives and other potential customers to see the dogs before buying.

Christopher Hanlon of ACT said the market opportunities were significant.

"Police and security forces around the world face continual problems with firearms, narcotics and smuggling.

"To counter this and protect the public, they are increasingly making use of dogs' powerful sense of smell to detect a wide range of contraband and dangerous materials.

"The breeds we work with have an unparalleled detection ability and can be trained to identify virtually anything that emits a scent."

Invest NI offered £47,000 towards a total investment by ACT Detection Dogs of £123,212.

The investment will create six new highly specialised jobs over the next three years.