Frika, William and Flippy are the names of the three new canine agents of the Yucatan State Police Department donated by the U.S. government through the Merida Initiative….
MERIDA — As part of the cooperation with the United States, Yucatan received three canine agents, equipment and supplies for Unit K9 of the State Public Security Secretariat (SSP), with value of $423,425 USD, that will contribute to strengthen the tasks of prevention and to guarantee the tranquility in the territory.
Under the Merida Initiative, Governor Rolando Zapata Bello witnessed the delivery to the corporation by the US consul in Merida, David Micó, of two stainless steel trailers specially designed for the transportation of police dogs, equipment for training and daily work; ballistic and thermal vests, canine footwear, muzzles, pseudo-aromas of narcotics and explosives, wooden and plastic boxes for marking training and first aid kits.
(Photo: Yucatan a la Mano)
The agency also invested in the construction of new areas, as well as expanding and modernizing existing ones such as: animal management, radiology room, clinic, laboratory, recovery area, operating room, bedrooms with own bathrooms and showers area, as well as warehouses for food storage and training equipment, said the Luis Felipe Saidén Ojeda, SSP chief.
The three dogs, two males of the breed Belgian Shepherd Malinois named William and Flippy and one female German Shepherd named Frika, are the new narcotics detectors, trained in San Antonio, Texas, where their current handlers, belonging to unit K9, received official certification for working with these species.
(Photo: Yucatan a la Mano)
Reaffirming the US Government commitment with the initiative, David Micó recalled that, through the Merida Initiative, on August 20, the Centers for Social Reinsertion (Cereso) of Mérida and Specialized in the Application of Measures for Adolescents (Ceama) were accredited by the American Association of Corrections (ACA). This, as part of the technical assistance offered to the local prison system to reach international standards.
In his turn, Saidén Ojeda, head of the Yucatan Police Department, explained that within the framework of binational cooperation, elements of the SSP participated in the annual K9 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and three more will go to Colombia to receive training in narcotics detection.
The official said that the canine team that has grown from 13 to 16 agents with the donation of the United States, assisted during 2016 in the seizure of 74.29 kilograms of marijuana, 2,500 kilograms of hashish, 91 capsules, two weapons and five psychotropic pills. He added that, so far this year, 450 kilograms of hashish, 100 tablets of ecstasy, 175 psychotropic substances, 0.010 grams of cocaine, 0.010 of crack and 37 figures of LSD have been secured.
“During this state administration, SSP K-9 has received 13 trained dogs for the detection of narcotics and explosives,” stated Saidén Ojeda.
Sources:
