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 puppies—aged around three months comprise 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 to strengthen 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, and 1 Doberman) have been allocated for explosive detection, four for narcotics detection (3 Belgian Malinois, 1 German Shepherd), and one Doberman for crime case detection

The detective dog squad functions through two dedicated units—the Kilpauk Unit and the St Thomas Mount Unit.

The Kilpauk unit 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 specialised 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.