CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Police has inducted 11 new puppies into its Detective Dog Squad at a formal ceremony at Rajarathinam stadium in Egmore on Monday. Additional Commissioner (Headquarters), Vijayendra Bidari named the newly inducted puppies.

The 11 puppies—aged about three months comprises 8 males and 3 females—belong to four breeds known for their exceptional tracking and detection capabilities: Labrador, Doberman, Belgian Malinois, and German Shepherd.

Vetri, Vikram, Nithra, Mugilan, Silamban, Kurali, Kaari, Gugan, Venbha, Dheeran and Alexander are the names given to the puppies.

"These puppies have been inducted into the Detective Dog Squad with the aim of strengthening the operational readiness of the force in explosive detection, narcotics control, and crime investigation," an official statement from GCP stated.

Six puppies (2 Labradors, 3 Belgian Malinois, 1 Doberman) have been allocated for explosive detection and four for narcotics detection (3 Belgian Malinois, 1 German Shepherd) one Doberman for crime case detection

The Detective Dog Squad functions through two dedicated units—Kilpauk Unit and St.Thomas Mount Unit.

The Kilpauk Unit presently houses 16 trained dogs: 11 for explosive detection, three for crime case detection and two for narcotics work.

The St. Thomas Mount Unit comprises seven dogs: four specializing in explosive detection and three in tracking accused involved in murder and robbery cases.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Detective Dog Squad has actively participated in 3,855 deployments, including 3,657 anti-sabotage checks, 137 bomb threat verifications, and 61 crime scene investigations, the release stated.