River was recently checking items entering Christchurch Men's Prison when she came across a brown paper bag that appeared to contain a fan for a prisoner.
But River indicated there was more to the fan than met the eye.
It was x-rayed and narcotics were found concealed inside of it.
When prison staff unscrewed the fan, they found a range of contraband material, including 1.68g of methamphetamine, 2.4g of marijuana, 11.73g of tobacco, a cell phone and a charger.
The discovery has been reported to the police for further investigation.
River's handler Christian Swift told the NZ Herald he was very proud of his mate.
“It is a truly remarkable find and River did an amazing job at leading us straight to the source,” Swift told the Herald.
“Drugs can create dangerous situations for staff, and prevent prisoners from engaging in rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities.
“Mobile phones can be used to commit further offences while behind bars.
“Many prisoners go to extreme lengths to get contraband behind bars, so our highly trained detector dogs are a critical part of our work to improve public safety and the safety of our work environments.”
River is one of 24 detector dog teams at prisons across New Zealand.
The talented detector dog has also won the Department of Corrections' body pack search title twice in 2023 and 2024. The competition involves finding concealed contraband on a person.
-Alllied Media
