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Arizona electronic detection K-9 helps catch human traffickers, child predators

By
Updated  May 23, 2024 9:05am MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix

AZ electronic detection K-9 catches child predators

You've likely heard of bomb-sniffing and drug-sniffing dogs, but you've probably never heard of an electronic detection K-9. Meet one of them – Mando – an electronic detection K-9. FOX 10's Ellen McNamara has more on this story.

PHOENIX - You've likely heard of bomb-sniffing and drug-sniffing dogs, but you've probably never heard of an electronic detection K-9.

The world we live in means they're in high demand, but there are only two dogs in the state of Arizona who specialize in it.

Meet one of them – Mando – an electronic detection K-9.

From the moment Mando, a three-year-old black Labrador Retriever, gets out of his truck, he's ready to work.

Before Mando went inside a home to demonstrate his abilities, his owner, Carl Smith, with Paragon Service Group, placed electronic devices around the house.

"Mando, his specialty is electronic detection. He's trained to detect an odor that is on every electronic device that stores or transmits data," Smith said.

Mando is in the business of protecting victims.

Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news:

"His primary function, the main reason why we got into this, is locating evidentiary items for law enforcement related to human trafficking and child pornography cases," Smith said.

The company's slogan: Because monsters use technology.

Nowadays, it's easier than ever to store disturbing and illegal photos and videos on small devices that can be hidden easily. That's where Mando, short for Mandalorian, comes in.

The pup's rewards – food and a lot of love.

Smith, a former sheriff's deputy in northern Arizona, saw the need for a dog like Mando.

Carl Smith

Carl Smith

In 2015 in Indiana, an electronic detection K-9 helped find the child pornography stash of Jared Fogle, the former Subway spokesman.

"To find the actual SD cards, the SIM cards, that is new. There's myself and one other dog in the southern part of the state …," Smith explained.

Smith says they work with law enforcement departments that obtain search warrants. They can also sweep rooms for recording devices, cameras, and even an AirTag.

"If you picture a human trying to find a micro SD card, going through any one of these items, where someone would hide a little SD card, he can blow through that so much faster than a human can," Smith said.

When Smith left law enforcement, he was still motivated to catch criminals, and with the help of this determined dog, he's doing just that.

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Mando

"We end up on a search warrant in Phoenix. The first search warrant that I did with him, and I was done. We had found a ton of items inside this little apartment, and I was waiting for the sergeant to tell me 'We're good to go, we're going to take off,' and he walked the guy down in handcuffs and put him in the patrol car, and I'm like, 'That's why we're doing it,'" Smith recalled.

Carl and Mando live in Prescott Valley, but they travel everywhere. Click here for more information on the dynamic team.