Zepp finds drugs packed in chilli pepper

Seven year old Zepp, a springer spaniel attached to the dog section of the Customs enforcement unit, sniffed out a piece of cannabis resin even though this was wrapped in a packet of red chilli pepper yesterday.

The incident happened at Malta International Airport at about 9 a.m. when luggage from an Air Malta flight arriving from Monastir, Tunisia, was being checked. The dog reacted to the suitcase just before it was collected by its owner, a 19-year-old man from Balzan.

A personal and luggage search followed during which the passenger continued to deny having anything illegal although Zepp still reacted "positively". When the passenger nearly got the all clear from Customs to leave the area, an officer decided to open a small packet said to contain red chilli pepper and found the drug inside.

"It was obviously hidden among the chilli to put off any possibility of detection by sniffer dogs but Zepp proved to be the sharper," a Customs officer said.

The passenger was held and handed over to the police for further investigation.

This was the second such seizure by a Customs sniffer dog in less than a week after Duke, also a springer spaniel, made a similar find last Monday.