DrugdogJakeis foundsafe& sound

June 1995

Ireland’s top sniffer dog, Jake - whose abduction attracted international media attention - is alive and well.

The six-year-old Labrador was found in a disused shed in Bridgetown on Wednesday. Wexford gardai who recovered the prized canine during a search of the Bridgetown area in the early hours of the morning say they are ‘certain’ that his kidnapping was linked with illegal drug smuggling activity.

A senior garda spokesman involved in the four-day investigation said it was suspected that Jake had been moved from premises to premises a number of times since his disappearance, rather than being held in one location all the time.

The successful sniffer dog, who hit the international headlines last week after he was mysteriously stolen from a locked kennel at the home of his handler, looked none the worse for his ordeal.

The handler, whose name and address are being guarded by the Customs authorities for security reasons, was contacted by the gardai shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, with the news that Jake had been discovered.

The National Drugs Team official was reported to be ‘over the moon’ as he formally identified his faithful friend and work companion to the gardai who found him.

Then it was a further period of incarceration for Jake, as he waited in a cell in Wexford Garda Station for the arrival of senior Customs officials from Dublin, who are now faced with the task of upgrading security arrangements for their handlers and sniffer dogs. to try prevent any such incidents happening again in future.

Jake himself may have been a victim of his own success, because of all the Customs sniffer dogs, he has received the most publicity over the past five years.

During his career in Rosslare Harbour, he has helped in the detection of more than £6 million worth of illegal drugs and contributed to the conviction and sentencing of a large number of criminals.

In a bizarre twist to the tale earlier this week, Uri Geller, the British psychic, announced to the media that he had a feeling Jake was alive and was locked in a basement near a petrol station and water.

And while Wexford Gardai make no claim to psychic powers, it is of course a fact that there is a petrol station in Dublin, and that the whole area is near water. Cynics point out though that almost everywhere is near water of some type! Meanwhile, Gardai were saying unofficially that they believed Jake was alive because those responsible for his abduction could have killed him on the spot if that had been their intention.

The public reacted with overwhelming concern and sympathy for their canine hero during the week, and a large number of people phoned Wexford Garda Station during the week to report sightings of stray dogs, but none of them proved positive.