An unusual practice by immigration officials seems to be flying in the face of standard protocols for travelers: in an effort to train drug sniffing dogs, officials have been enlisting actual travelers to carry drug-laced paper through customs to see if the dogs can detect it. Since the training began the dogs have dramatically increased their success in sniffing out cocaine and other controlled substances, but the whole notion of accepting something from a stranger can be unnerving, regardless if it’s for a good cause. Supposedly the scent of drugs remains on the traveler for only an hour, but that could be an hour too long if further travel is attempted on arrival.
