All it took was for a four-and-a-half-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever named Gus to sit down for police to lay their hands on up to half-a-million dollars in suspected drug money.
The cash seizure happened on Highway 2 near Olds just after 2 p.m. on April 8 when an RCMP traffic services member based out of Bow Valley pulled over a southbound SUV for a traffic violation.
When the Mountie spoke to the man driving the vehicle, he became suspicious and brought Gus, a police service dog, to lend his nose for a search of the vehicle.
Gus determined that drugs were, or had been, allegedly present in the SUV and gave a “positive sit,” which is a signal to officers that he has detected drugs, said Supt. Howard Eaton, a spokesman for the RCMP's K Division traffic services.
The officer discovered hidden within the SUV several large, sealed bags of between $300,000 and $500,000 in Canadian cash.
The cash was seized and the driver, a 25-year-old Edmonton man who Eaton said was driving to Calgary alone, was arrested.
He faces a charge of possessing proceeds of crime and was released on his own recognizance from the Olds RCMP detachment.
Eaton said investigators determined the cash is linked to alleged drug trafficking due to its packaging.
He added that it is common practice for up to six members of the RCMP's provincial traffic services to have a service dog with them while patrolling Alberta's highways, since traffic violation stops often lead to investigations into drug trafficking or other criminal activities.
“Drugs are being transported on our highways every day,” Eaton said, adding the officer involved in the cash seizure was lucky to have Gus with him for the bust.
“He was in the right spot at the right time.”
