A K9 officer and K9 Rex were the unsung heroes on Friday when they helped catch a man believed to be involved in an alleged grab and run incident in Valelevu.
A woman who was walking near the LTA premises was caught by surprise when her handbag was snatched by three men, and the three men ran towards the Nadera area as police officers from the Valelevu Police Station officers gave chase.
They lost all trace of the trio and a search was conducted which proved futile.
Police then decided to deploy an officer from the K9 unit where K9 Rex and his handler Special Constable Sireli Taoka were taken to the scene.
K9 Rex managed to pick up the scent from some of the woman’s belongings and identified the direction the three had fled.
K9 Rex led his handler from the initial point of the incident down towards Nadera and eventually up at Veiraisi Settlement.
They then searched a nearby piece of land as K9 Rex was clearly showing signs of something of interest nearby.
The officers then managed to find one of the suspects hiding in the bushes.
He was arrested and brought to the Valelevu Police Station where it was also revealed that a bench warrant was out for his arrest.
During the course of investigation the suspect also gave the identity of his two alleged accomplices leading to their arrest who are now in custody as investigations continue.
Commissioner of Police Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho in recognising their invaluable contribution has continued to look at ways of improving and uplifting their work as he considers the K9 unit to be an integral arm of policing.
