Phnom Penh: The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and the General Commissariat of National Police have entered into a cooperative agreement on scent-detection-dog skills training. The agreement was inked by H.E. Gen. Sar Thet, Commissioner General of the National Police, and H.E. Heng Ratana, CMAC Director General, on Jan. 14 in Phnom Penh. H.E. Gen. Sar Thet said that the cooperation was built on the effective outcomes of its first phase signed on June 21, 2018.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, the cooperation aimed to equip relevant police officials with skills to handle scent-detection dogs in operations against drug trafficking and security enforcement. It also guides mutual support between the General Commissariat of National Police and CMAC in addressing security risks related to landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance, he added.

CMAC currently has 144 scent-detection dogs and plans to breed and train 100 more in 2025. The centre deploys the dogs to support Cambodia’s national and special forces for security operations and supplies some of them for demining activities in other countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Colombia, and African nations.