A Pembrokeshire dog handler and his four detection dogs sniffed out more than £236,000 of criminal cash, 244,000 packets of illegal cigarettes and 1,878 kilogrammes of hand-rolling tobacco last year.

Figures released by BWY Canine reveal that the detection dogs Scamp, Yoyo, Cooper and Maggie along with their handler Stuart Phillips took part in 157 trading standards operations last year.

During these they searched 654 shops, 21 storage facilities, 40 houses or flats and 103 vehicles.

The actual numbers are likely to be even higher that this as the results from three major operations, where significant tobacco seizures were made, have still not come in.

Among 2021’s successful operations was one in Walsall where the dogs sniffed out £200,000 of cannabis as well as illegal tobacco.

In another operation with Durham Police detection dogs, Yoyo and Cooper uncovered more than 24,200 cigarettes and 6.65 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco.

Cooper also helped lead officers from Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards to 36,720 illegal cigarettes and 14.55kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco with a street value of around £9,000.

In September Cooper’s specially trained nose discovered an estimated £10,000 worth of counterfeit and illicit tobacco in a single raid in Worcester city centre.

Yoyo helped Warwickshire Police detect £17k of illegal cigarettes hidden in a sewer, at a raid on two Rugby shops.

Towards the end of the year Cooper and Yoyo tracked down £300,000 of illegal tobacco, including more than 216,000 illegal cigarettes and 350 kilograms of hand-rolling tobacco, in Croydon.

BWY also trained the world’s first whisky detection dogs, who were put into action at the Grant's Whisky distillery in Girvan in Ayrshire las summer.

Rocco and Bran can sniff out imperfections in the wooden casks used as part of the whisky making process.

BWY Canine Ltd has provided clients with professional search dog services since 2009.

They detect explosives, firearms, drugs, cash, tobacco, meat/products of animal origin, live bodies, human remains and crime scene evidence.

Their clients include police services, trading standards, private companies, NHS Trusts, Oil Refineries and the third largest Port Authority in the UK.