Durban - She is a member of the South African Police Service feared by drug dealers for her uncanny ability to find hidden stashes of money. Her service record is impeccable, with an impressive haul of millions of rand recovered from criminals.
Many awards and medals have been handed to her and her partner for outstanding work in the service of South Africa. But you can’t ask this police member how she feels about the accolades because she’s a dog.
Meet Erica, a 5-year-old Malinois or Belgian Shepherd dog, and an active member of the Umlazi K9 unit.
undefinedShe is one of only two dogs in the SAPS who is trained to sniff different currencies and has an unblemished record of finding money that criminals go to extreme lengths to hide.
Her reputation precedes her as drug dealers hand over their hidden cash when they hear that Erica and her handler, Sergeant Sabelo Xaba, are on their way.
Any money found after suspects deny there is anything else on the property is confiscated by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
The pair have been working together since 2011 and have made a number of busts.
In 2012 they recovered a little over R1 million; in 2013 they sniffed out R1.7m and last year, R690 000 and $1.6m (R19.7m) were recovered. Their haul so far this year is R212 060.
Xaba joined the police force in 2003 and joined the K9 Unit soon thereafter.
Erica is the third dog he has been partnered with and he admits she is “quite special”.
“She was brought to South Africa from the Netherlands and is the first currency sniffer dog in KZN, and one of only two in the country. The other dog is in Mpumalanga.
“Erica has found money in the most unusual places – people have been very creative when it comes to hiding their money. Some hide it in secret compartments in wardrobes or in the floors of their houses. Regardless of how deep they bury the money, she will find it,” he said.
Erica received an intensive six-month training in Pretoria and was trained to find a single R10 note, even after it had been laminated in plastic.
This makes sniffing the ink on larger sums of money much easier, explained Xaba.
“She can find money hidden in any vehicle, container and under cover. She finds any money invisible to the human eye. We deal mostly in white collar crime, where large amounts of money have been hidden and are profits from smuggling, fraud or drugs. If it’s hidden, she will find it!”
The Sunday Tribune team watched Erica in action.
Xaba first hid over R500 in a wooden safe. Within minutes of being unleashed and sniffing around the room, Erica had found the stash.
She dug at it to get Xaba’s attention before sitting down to indicate there was no other money hidden in the room.
Money was then buried deep underground in the garden.
Again, within minutes of being unleashed, Erica had sniffed the entire garden and dug until she found the money.
Once the notes were uncovered, she sat down to show there was nothing else hidden.
Xaba said they had an intense workload and were called out to different jobs in the province daily.
“I am very proud to work with a specialised dog like Erica. I love animals and have my own dogs at home. I have taken Erica home on a few occasions and my kids love her. She is a valuable member of the police force,” he said.
Provincial police spokes-man Major Thulani Zwane agreed, saying the police are blessed to have such a dog in its employ.
“Sergeant Xaba and Erica make a good team. We are proud of the work they do.”
Sunday Tribune