Santa Pola Local Police use dogs to enforce policies against drug use and possession around schools

Following reports of drug usage by both adult and juvenile students during school hours and playtime, the Santa Pola Local Police, using its canine squad, have stepped up its controls around the municipality’s secondary schools. Five individuals were detected and reported for the possession and use of narcotic substances yesterday morning, Monday 24th March, thanks to the service’s employment of passive detection dogs.

When two officers and a sniffer dog arrived at the two secondary schools on Calle del Mar at 7:30 a.m., they checked students who had arrived by bus but did not discover any drugs. They went to the ravine next to the Santa Pola secondary school’s perimeter fence just before 8:00 a.m., when they saw two minors, ages 14 and 16, smoking cigarettes. They tossed the smokes to the ground as they noticed the officers.

The sniffer dog then found a piece of hashish in their backpacks, indicating positive results. The principal, the girls’ legal guardians, Social Services, and the Alicante Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office were informed, and both girls were escorted to the school.

The policemen returned to the area during break at approximately 10:50 a.m. This time, they pulled over a 17-year-old girl who was in the car park on an electric scooter. When she saw them, she attempted to drive away but was stopped; the dog found two bits of marijuana and hashish in her backpack. She was charged with possessing drugs.
A few minutes later, a 20-year-old El Altet resident who was getting out of a car to go to school received a positive result from the dog. Officers searched him and discovered marijuana in his trousers pocket. They examined the vehicle because they thought it might contain more drugs, and they found a bag of marijuana near the gear stick. They reported the driver.

The canine service resumed their hunt for potential users in La Cruz Park following the break. They found a man smoking what looked to be marijuana there, and once the detection dog recognised him, they found two buds in the pocket of his right trousers. The defendant was charged with both public narcotics possession and consumption.