Britain has unleashed a secret weapon in the fight against people smugglers, whose activities are facilitating the migrant crisis across Europe.
The UK has taken an active role in defending the “gateway” to the continent at Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo border, where scores enter illegally in the hope of securing asylum.
Kapitan Andreevo is a bottleneck in this journey and can be found in southeastern Bulgaria, where the Balkan nation borders Turkey.
Despite extensive security measures in place in the area, migrants still manage to make their way into Europe, with some eventually attempting to cross the English Channel into Britain.
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Along with ferrying people onto the continent, smugglers also carry narcotics, weapons, and other contraband at Europe's border with Asia.
As such, the British government has taken a keen interest in helping police the borderlands of Bulgaria and Turkey.
A considerable police presence, a 10ft razor wire fence, and even fleets of drones are part of the solution, but Britain’s contribution is far simpler.
Enter Adele, a five-year-old German short-haired pointer, seconded to Bulgarian border agents to aid them in their mission to police Europe’s frontier.
Britain has unleashed a secret weapon to combat smugglers at Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo border with Turkey
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The brave pooch works as a sniffer dog, helping uncover the illicit goods that smugglers attempt to sneak over the border.
As she patrols the heavily fortified boundary, Adele wears a harness proudly bearing the Union Flag alongside the Bulgarian tricolour.
A Bulgarian National Customs Agency spokesman has spoken glowingly about Adele’s contribution to their efforts.
“She does not bark or scratch, but freezes in place,” he explained.
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Adele, a German short-haired pointer, is the spearhead of Britain's fight against smugglers at the border with Turkey
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He declared: “It’s like saying, ‘Problem!’”
As part of her role as a sniffer dog, Adele helps detect substances hidden in shipping containers, such as the rubber used in dighies.
These dighies are often the very same used to attempt crossings from northern France into Britain.
So far, 82 such vessels have been intercepted in transit at the Bulgarian border, per The Sun.
Adele is one of the Bulgarian border forces' dogs that help detect contraband, such as dighies bound for the English Channel (stock pic)
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In their cooperation with the National Crime Agency (NCA), Bulgarian border agents have seized 201 inflatable boats and 121 outboard motors since May 2023.
Adrian Matthews, NCA Director of Intelligence, had identified the Balkan nation as “a key location on the supply route” for cross-Channel smuggling networks.
To that end, Adele is just the tip of the spear in British aid to help police the crossing.
The British government has also supplied top-of-the-line, high-tech scanners to reveal dighies being smuggled in lorries.
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