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DENVER — They’re strong, enthusiastic and have an incomparable sense of smell. They are perfect drug cops.

That’s exactly why the Denver Sheriff’s Department has added two Malinois and one German shepard to its force of canine cops.

“The biggest part in what these dogs are going to do is they are going to allow us to be more effective at discovering contraband,” sheriff’s director of security Capt. Phillip Swift said.

That has been an ongoing problem with the sheriff’s department for a long time as it is not allowed to strip search an inmate until they have seen a judge for the second time or if they have probable cause.

Otherwise, they can only pat down an inmate.

“We’re going to be able to search more often. We’re going to be able to do more thorough searches,” Swift said.

In addition to the dogs, there will be more shakedowns, more strip searches and the appointment of a dedicated security captain.

But the sheriff’s department is hoping the dogs will make a big difference. They are specially bred and trained to sniff out narcotics, marijuana, tobacco, cellphones, homemade weapons and knives.

With a sense of smell 40 times greater than humans, it’s going to be difficult to pull the wool over those dog’s nose.