Narcotics dog seizes over $18-million
Published: November 16, 2005
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office recently retired one of its hardest working members in the war against drugs: Narcotics Canine Drago. In his long service to the department, Drago seized over $18-million in contraband.
Sgt. Cliff Deutsch of Special Operations is Drago’s handler. He was emotional when talking about finally ending his 12 plus year partnership with Drago. “(I) spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with him. He’s part of the family. In fact, he was there before I even had a family.”
Drago is a black German Shepherd, who started his career in 1994. Since then, the two have merited many distinctions and awards, including classification as expert witnesses for court purposes in narcotic interdiction and identification.
Of Drago’s retirement, Sgt. Deutsch said, “He’s served the community well. I know he’s saved many lives by his drug seizures. He deserves it.” He will live with the sergeant and his family.
Sgt. Deutsch got Drago when he was eight weeks old. The dog then went through intensive training. “Initially Drago and I went through 400 hours of Narcotics Interdiction training under the U.S. Custom Service,” said Deutsch. Since then, the two have continued weekly training.
Their biggest single seizure? “We seized a tractor trailer truck out of Texas on I-75, with 300 pounds of marijuana,” said Deutsch. In his career, Drago has seized over 3,600 pounds of marijuana, over 1,000 pounds of cocaine, over 1,300 units of crack cocaine and over $1.1 million in United States currency, among other items. [The Phoenix Solution: Getting Serious About Winning America’s Drug War]
In 1997, highlights of Drago’s and Sgt Deutsch’s careers were winning the Deputy of the Year award for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and winning Officer of the Year Law Enforcement Award for the Florida Council Crime.
The two are currently in the process of training Sgt. Deutsch’s new canine partner, Czar. They have both been training him for over a year.
On duty, Drago was considered to be “aggressive alert,” barking and scratching when he found concealed drugs. Off duty, Drago is a very laid-back, relaxed dog. But apparently his new partner is his opposite, full of energy. “The two are night and day,” said Deutsch. “Czar is driving him crazy; all he wants to do is play. All of our dogs are great, but for Drago, Czar has some big shoes to fill.”
Canines are used for this type of law enforcement because of their ability to smell. “An average person has 5 million olfactory cells; dogs have 220 million,” explained Deutsch. But not every dog is suited for this kind of work. “Drago is special. They either have it or they don’t. It’s in their breeding.”
Of the many related court appearances, Deutsch said: “We’ve never lost. Drago’s work and reputation are very credible, and that’s important with his amount of seizures, especially with over $1 million in cash seizures.”
Sgt. Deutsch also stated that one of the things the two enjoyed most in their career together was going to school programs. “I still have letters from kids who said they wanted to have a dog like Drago.”
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