BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- On Wednesday, March 5, 2003, United States Secret Serviceofficials attended a ceremony recognizing the latest additions to the arsenal of tools
combating international counterfeiting -- counterfeit detection canines.
Under legislation passed in May 2001, the Secret Service received funding to helpColombian authorities establish a counterfeit detection canine program, where teams,
comprised of a dog and its handler, undergo a 12-week training program. The first"graduates"of the training program completed their training and are now being used to
detect counterfeit currency.
"For nearly eight years, the Secret Service has worked closely with Colombianauthorities to fight counterfeiting," said Secret Service Director Ralph Basham. "Since1998, the Secret Service and Colombian police have seized more than $150 million incounterfeit currency and dismantled operations that could have produced billions ofdollars in bogus bills. The new counterfeit detecting canines will only help our continuedefforts."
The canine teams will be deployed throughout Colombia, where they will assistauthorities in the detection and suppression of counterfeit U.S. currency. In the past,teams provided by the Secret Service have been used to help locate clandestine printingoperations throughout Colombia.
"Just as working dogs have been trained to detect a variety of items -- explosives,agricultural products, missing people -- we have had success in teaching them to detectmany of the most commonly produced counterfeit U.S. notes," said Anthony Chapa,Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Counterfeit Division.
In 1997, Secret Service introduced "Mike,"the first canine trained in the detection ofcounterfeit U.S currency. "Mike"-- and his Secret Service handler -- have had great success
in detecting counterfeit bound for distribution in the United States. Since that time theSecret Service has expanded its canine program and used these assets in the United States
and other locations throughout the world.
With the funding provided by Congress in 2001, the Secret Service has worked closelywith Colombian authorities to develop, train and equip a select anti-counterfeiting force.
This team works in conjunction with the Secret Service in the seizure and suppression ofColombian-manufactured counterfeit U.S. currency.
The Secret Service opened a resident office in Bogota in 1996. As countries throughoutSouth and Central America "dollarize" -- adopt U.S. currency as their own national
currency --the office expanded its staff and increased its work with Colombianauthorities.
The U.S. Secret Service was created in 1865 with the sole purpose of suppressingcounterfeit currency. While the agency's responsibilities have expanded to include
presidential protection, its investigative mission still focuses on protecting theinfrastructure of the nation's financial systems.
Source: U.S. Secret Service