Sgt Baron, the officer in charge of Dunedin's police dog section, and his 5-year-old police dog Evo were among those displaying their new skills at the Police Dog Training Centre in Upper Hutt yesterday.
Nationwide, seven police dogs and five Customs dogs are being trained to sniff out hidden cash, following a successful trial involving two dogs.
Currency dogs completed two days of training, to learn the scent of new cash.
They will work alongside police and Customs officers throughout the country.
Police Minister Anne Tolley, who attended yesterday's display, said the cash detector dogs would help combat growing levels of organised crime in New Zealand.
The recent trial involving two detector dogs resulted in the seizure of more than $350,000 in undeclared or concealed cash at Auckland International Airport and during the execution of search warrants.
New Zealand, Australian and United States currencies would be targeted, as well as narcotics.
''These dogs and their handlers are incredibly impressive and will play an important part in our focus on bringing crime rates down even further,'' Mrs Tolley said.
''They will send a powerful message to criminals that the cash profits from their crimes will be found and seized, along with any assets such as cars, boats and houses.''
Once trained, the Customs dogs will work in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
The police dogs will be based in the Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Eastern, Wellington, Canterbury and Southern police districts.
About $29.5 million in cash and assets has been forfeited by convicted criminals since the Government introduced the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act in December 2009.
Police at present hold restraining orders worth more than $130 million.
Upon conviction, assets are forfeited to the Crown.
