Sniffing drugs at the door of a Barcelona festival: "You bring them: the dog doesn't lie"

BarcelonaFiru jumps agilely out of the van where he was waiting – with the air conditioning on – wagging his tail. He wants to play. His handler leads him towards the ramp leading to the festival entrance, with a crowd of people heading towards the access controls. The handler lets himself be led by Firu, who, hyperactive, weaves between the legs of the attendees. Some pet him, others comment on how beautiful he is, this German Shepherd, until he begins to circle a young man and sits down in front of him.

The young man doesn't quite grasp what's happening as he affectionately strokes the dog and smiles. The surprise hits him when the handler, an agent of the Barcelona Urban Guard, tells him the dog has just indicated he's carrying drugs. First, the boy says no, then he comments that it's CBD (a cannabis compound that has no psychoactive effects), but the handler states, with a response that is repeated throughout the afternoon: "The dog doesn't lie".

The scene takes place at the entrance to the Forum this Friday at 6:30 PM, the time when more people attend the Brunch Electronik festival. Indeed, Firu doesn't fail: it still has to be taken to the lab for analysis – as is done with all confiscated drugs – but the young man receives a fine of about 400 euros for carrying marijuana. And Firu, who interprets everything as a game, receives his prize: a kind of chew toy that he gnaws with a child's excitement.

Valeriano Lucas Casado, UREP sub-inspector of the Guàrdia Urbana, explains that dogs can also detect synthetic drugs, as they smell certain specific molecules that coincide in the vast majority of substances. They also have ones that detect cash, banknotes, useful especially when entering drug dens or places where they suspect money is hidden.

The sub-inspector adds that this method for detecting drugs is minimally invasive and, at the same time, preventive: there are people who, when they see the dog, throw away the drugs before entering the festival or don't bring any the next day. The police commander explains that it is important to prevent the entry of these substances, especially to avoid fights. "We are not party poopers," he clarifies, specifying that they always try to ensure that the person attends the festival anyway, but without the drugs. When they see the dog, many try to discreetly distance themselves while in the background, the electronic music that has brought them – many are tourists – to the Catalan capital is already playing.

At a distance

The ramp leading to the festival is not the ideal setting for Firu. There are a lot of people and it's windy, which disperses his sense of smell a bit. Even so, he doesn't fail. He catches some from a distance, heading directly for the target, knowing, from 10 or 20 meters away, that he's carrying drugs. Attendees accept it with good sportsmanship, except for one who denies everything and after a thorough search, it's discovered he was carrying two MDMA pills in his sock. Firu lasts about 20 minutes and it's Hutch's turn.

He arrived with his brother, Starsky – named in honor of the detective duo – two puppies from the Guardia Urbana from Alicante. Although they have been raised together, now, for reasons unknown, the brothers don't get along and can't stand each other. It happens in the best families...

The officers have completed all their training and also take care of them, walk them, and in many cases, they live in their homes. However, they have to be very careful where they walk them: “I avoid places where people might be consuming, as it could be thought that he is working.” His reward is a small ball that he enthusiastically chews after marking, from a great distance, a young man in a summer shirt. “I'm carrying all of my friends' stuff,” he replies, worried. He is found with crystal meth and cocaine, among other drugs. The quantity is so high that it becomes a criminal offense and he will have to attend a trial. “I was carrying all of my friends' drugs,” the young man keeps repeating while his friends wait for him. “Normally, people don't make it difficult for us,” comments the sub-inspector. At this moment, there are 15,000 people at the festival, and it is expected that there will be 22,000 throughout the night.

The phrase “the dog doesn't lie” ends up being completely true. In just over an hour, the two dogs mark 14 people at the entrance to the festival. The 14 people were carrying drugs, in the vast majority of cases, pre-rolled cigarettes with marijuana or hashish. The sub-inspector explains that the objective is to carry out “qualitative and non-invasive” checks.

Since the beginning of the year, his unit has carried out 1,200 drug interventions, and 60% of them have been thanks to the dogs. They rarely fail, sometimes because they smell the gasoline from a lighter – various drugs, although it may sound surprising, are mixed with gasoline during chemical processes. Normally, they are retired between five and seven years old and are always kept by their handler or another member of the force.