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Jul 23, 2008 1:30 pm US/Eastern
Security At MIA Going To The Dogs
TSA Handlers Will Use Dogs To Sniff Out Explosives
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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K-9 explosive detection squad introducted at MIA
CBS
Security at Miami International Airport is going to the dogs.
Jason Nimark told
CBS4 Reporter Marybel Rodriguez, "The dogs were bred specifically for this job." Not only can the dogs work a detail at cargo locations, but also sniff aircraft, boat, or vehicles.
The Transportation Safety Administration is training security personnel to handle bomb sniffing police dogs to detect explosive materials at MIA.
Miami is the first city to launch the program because of the large amount of cargo that passes through the airport.
George Hazy of American Airlines said, "We have a world-class cargo operation here, which is actually the largest cargo operation in American Airlines' system. We handle about a million pounds of freight a day."
The TSA dog handlers will be non-law enforcement employees and will complement the TSA certified Miami-Dade Police teams currently deployed at MIA.
The TSA says the new teams will "enhance flexibility in the air cargo environment and allow TSA to surge resources when there is a heightened threat in any transportation system."
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