RUMFORD — Niko, a police K-9, has assisted in taking more than 1,000 grams of fentanyl and other drugs off Rumford area streets over the past three months, officer Brad Gallant said.

“He’s not trained on fentanyl. However, more often than not, when we’re finding large amounts of fentanyl, we’re finding other drugs,” his handler said.

The 2-year-old black American Labrador and Gallant became a Maine certified K-9 team in narcotics detection 18 months ago.

“Over the last three to four months is when things have really started to uptick,” Gallant said. “We’ve responded to state police, Dixfield police, Mexico police, the Sheriff’s Department, and obviously, here in Rumford.”

Niko wears a tracking harness when he’s working. “When that gets put on, he immediately knows that is what’s going on,” Gallant said.

“As far as when we’re doing drug work or article search work, that’s all just voice commands and he’s following the prompts. I tend to reward with his food. One of the reasons is, he gets so amped up. Once he has his toys, it’s hard bringing him down, because of the play aspect.”

Niko loves meeting children, “but everything with COVID kind of shut down all the school visits we were doing and things like that. That’s been frustrating because he absolutely loves going in there, and the kids love him,” the officer said.

“We’re getting more and more calls from surrounding agencies to help with vehicle stops or bail checks. With COVID, it’s made certain aspects of our job more difficult,” Gallant said.

Other K-9 teams in the region include two for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, one for the Norway Police Department and two for state police covering Oxford and Androscoggin counties. There isn’t one for the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

K-9 teams are required to have 24 hours of training a month to maintain certification.

“You’ve got to make sure the dog and handler are getting the updated training and practice,” Gallant said.

Assessing his partner, Gallant said, “I would go to a tracking anytime, anywhere with him. I am just as confident in his tracking abilities as any dog I’ve ever watched track.”

Niko and his handler, Rumford police officer Brad Gallant, have been a Maine certified K-9 team in narcotics detection for more than 18 months. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

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