Police dog hero sniffs out huge haul of drugs secretly hidden in a pair of gloves

A police Dog named Obi has been hailed a star after his keen nose sniffed out a pair of latex gloves secretly hidden in a car …. and found to be filled with illegal drugs. 

Merseyside Police officers called in hero hound Obi after stopping a suspicious car in Norris Green, Liverpool, in the early hours of Tuesday this week – when the driver tested positive for a drugs wipe. 

And despite his claims he had nothing illegal inside, the 44 year-old was arrested after Obi sniffed out the hidden gloves inside, and they were stuffed with cocaine and cannabis. 

PD Obi is named after Star War’s iconic character Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Sir Alec Guinness in the original 1977 movie and later by Ewan McGregor in the sequel films and Disney+ streaming series.

Detective Inspector Neil Dillon said: “Thanks to the pro-active work of officers and of course the ability of Police Dog Obi, we have been able to remove suspected Class A and B drugs from our streets and also make an arrest.​

“We know that criminals use our road networks to transport ill-gotten cash and property, drugs and weapons. 

“Preventing them from doing so deals a significant blow to their ability to commit crime, and helps us put them before the courts.” 

The north-west England-based force explained how at around 12.30am on Tuesday 25th February, a vehicle was stopped by officers on Townsend Avenue in Norris Green, Liverpool, and the driver tested positive after a drugs wipe. 

It led to a request for Police Dog Obi to attend the scene and it didn’t take him long to sniff out a pair of latex gloves that had been hidden inside the car, which contained multiple wraps of suspected Class A and B drugs.​

A 44-year-old man from Kirkby has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled Class A drug (cocaine) and Class B drug (cannabis) and drug driving.

Detective Inspector Dillon added: “No criminal should profit from misery while our wider law abiding communities work hard to earn an honest living. 

“If you know someone involved in crime, please let us know so we can take them off our streets.” 

It’s not known if the sniffer dog smelled the latex of the gloves or the drugs hidden inside – which themselves were in plastic wraps. 

But expertly-bred police hounds can be trained to smell the most specific objects or materials. 

Last year it was revealed three Durham Constabulary police dogs have been specially trained to sniff out technical devices to catch sex offenders and other criminals. 

Durham Constabulary’s digital evidence detection dogs hunt for items including mobile phones, tablets and laptops. 

The force said Demi, Baxter and Louis had already proven to be “phenomenal” assets and helped officers secure a number of arrests. 

Insp Aaron Leathley, from Durham Constabulary’s dog support unit, said the their work was “invaluable” and they had already achieved “great results”. 

“Digi dogs provide us a phenomenal asset in terms of locating bits of digital media,” he said. 

“We live in a world now where the increase in mobile phones and digital devices has gone through the roof so there’s always generally an angle from any investigation point that we look at through a digital lens.”