A dog that was trained to sniff out flash drives and other electronic storage devices, and had been used to crack child sex abuse cases overseas, was introduced to Thai police on Thursday.
The dog is called Hidu and was showcased by Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) Thailand and representatives of the international organisation.
OUR director Supree Saowichit took Hidu to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) to demonstrate how the canny canine could detect electronic memory devices.
Pol Maj Gen Wiwat Khamchamn, commander of the ATPD, said the OUR had worked with his agency on several occasions to rescue sex abuse victims. The organisation had also presented special modern tools to his agency.
The dog Hidu was in Thailand for the first time, the ATPD commander said.
Chaz Balogh, an OUR investigation official, said Hidu was a male Labrador Retiever and would be two years old in October. He had graduated from a police dog academy in May and had already put his skills to good use in Mexico before coming to Southeast Asia.
Hidu is trained to sniff out a chemical coating used in electronic devices like mobile phones and flash drives, frequently used to store evidence of child sex abuse. The sniffing dog was used for searching in houses, vehicles, airplanes and forests, Mr Balogh said.
The dog was also a trusted friend of sex abuse victims, he added.