Dogs are being trained to sniff for cash as part of a new offensive on Northern Ireland's billion pound crime industry, it was revealed today.
As police chiefs intensified their financial crackdown, six specialist animals will be used for the first time to uncover the hard currency of racketeers, extortionists and drug dealers running scared of using bank accounts.
One of the new PSNI sniffer dogs specially trained to find large quantities of money at the Police Dog Centre in Antrim
Nearly £6 million worth of assets has been restrained so far this year, and detectives suspect more and more criminals are keeping huge bundles of money close at hand.
Detective Superintendent Pat Steele, head of the Economic Crime Bureau in Belfast, said: "There's a big cash-rich black economy in Northern Ireland. These people are shying away from banks. We have to do something.
"Bank notes give off an odour and these dogs have been trained to sniff out the presence of cash. We will then work out if its legal or not."
The animals will be put to work in search operations and patrolling airports and harbours by the end of August.
Mr Steele, who took charge of the unit six months ago, developed the strategy after having to bring in dogs from England during an earlier murder inquiry.
British Customs and Excise officers are also known to use the same method to hunt out illegitimate cash.
The animals, two Labradors, three springer spaniels and a terrier, will be based with their handlers at Steeple Barracks, Antrim.