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Dogs Fetch Contraband Cell Phones in Jails

Md., Va. among states using canines to bust crooks' outside contact

By Laila Weir, Newser User

Posted Jul 10, 2008 1:51 PM CDT

(Newser) – Dogs, it turns out, can sniff out more than just bombs and drugs. Authorities in Maryland and Virginia have canines rooting out cell phones, described by one official as "perhaps the worst type of contraband" in today's prisons. The increasingly tiny devices are easy to smuggle in, the Washington Post explains, allowing inmates to continue directing criminal activity.

Dogs have proven adept at finding the forbidden electronics; in a demonstration yesterday, a dog even sniffed out a phone that was hidden inside a TV. Nor are they fooled by other common inmate ploys, like hiding phones in peanut-butter jars or down toilets. “I think every state will be doing this in a short time,” said one prison official.

Tazz, a 5-year-old springer spaniel trained to search prison cells for contraband cell phones, conducts a practice search on Wednesday, July 9, at the Maryland House of Corrections. (AP Photo/Kristen Wyatt)

Tazz, a 5-year-old springer spaniel trained to search prison cells for contraband cell phones, prepares for a practice search on Wednesday, July 9, at the Maryland House of Corrections. (AP Photo/ Kristen Wyatt)

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Dogs Fetch Contraband Cell Phones in Jails

Md., Va. among states using canines to bust crooks' outside contact

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Md., Va. among states using canines to bust crooks' outside contact

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

cell phones • prison • contraband • dog • bomb-sniffing dogs

MOST POPULAR STORIES

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More Newser Stories

Inmates Use Contraband Phones, Texts to Stage Strike

Text messages unite prisoners in seven Georgia lockups

Charles Manson Caught With Cell Phone

Calif. prison phone problem out of control, lawmakers say

Con Packed a Lot of Junk in His Trunk

Guards amazed by size of Washington inmate's rectal stash

How Many Cigarettes for a Cell Phone?

Prisons awash in smuggled phones as authorities crack down

Prisons Aim to Change Ban on Phone Jamming

Rampant cell use facilitates crimes committed behind bars

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Newser By Users

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