Ketamine and cannabis

Fine sniffer noses busted drug imports

No illegal shipment remains hidden from the fine noses of the service dogs.(Bild: BMF)

Two service dogs once again made a big impression during a recent customs operation: Thanks to the two four-legged friends, narcotics worth 80,000 euros were seized in Vienna and Vorarlberg.

Two four-legged friends in the fight against illegal drug imports. Their names are "Ike" and "Joker" and they have done their masters and mistresses at customs a great service. It all began in mid-December 2024, when a so-called risk-oriented inspection was carried out at the Vienna mail distribution center. The officers discovered a suspicious parcel in a mail item - service dog "Ike" was deployed to sniff out anything suspicious.

And indeed: it was exactly 1016 grams of ketamine, known as an anaesthetic and popular as a party drug. In January 2025, the four-legged friend "struck" again at the post center: a kilo of cannabis was confiscated.

In the west of the country, "Inspector Joker" did a great job. The German shepherd sniffed out a small amount of cannabis in a rucksack on the back seat of a car during a routine check - the customs officers then discovered a larger quantity in a spare wheel in the trunk. "We are doing everything we can to combat the abuse of classic drugs and new psychoactive substances," says Finance Minister Gunter Mayr.