Police sniff out trouble

Officers from Melbourne and Sydney travelled to Albury on Friday with a NSW police sniffer dog.

The drug dog, named Brenna, sniffed out a university student with a small amount of cannabis.

He was given a caution.

It’s the fourth time police have targeted Albury train station using a sniffer dog.

While the operations have often found passengers with only small amounts of drugs, Victorian Sergeant Adrian Mizza said police couldn’t rule out finding dealers.

“Most of them are recreational amounts, I would suggest or guess,” he said.

“But who’s to say someone isn’t running a suitcase full (of drugs)?

“We get a number of arrests every operation.

“We’ve done three in the past and every operation we’ve had quite good success.

“The dogs sniff out the drugs and we arrest and deal with the perpetrators.”

The sniffer dog detected at least two people who weren’t carrying drugs, including an international traveller who had his bags searched.

While drugs weren’t found on the travellers, police say it’s often an indication they have been in possession of drugs in the past.

Sergeant Mizza said the police presence helped passengers feel safe.

14 police were used during the operation, codenamed Southern Aurora.

Police arrested four people in Wagga during the operation on Thursday.

NSW Sergeant Mick Chubb said the aim was to deter people from carrying drugs on the train line and on bus services. 

“It’s important because the public need to feel safe,” he said.

“They need to have people on the train who are well behaved and have a comfortable journey.”

XPT, V/Line and bus services arriving at Albury were targeted during the operation, which will continue on Saturday morning as officers return to the cities. 

“The message is we want people to have a good time and a safe journey,” Sergeant Chubb said.

Previous operations have found knives, a spoon and syringe used to inject the painkiller Oxycontin, a bong and cannabis.