Abbas Allawi, 52, of Watford, Hertfordshire was sentenced to 14 months in prison, for offences relating to the illegal keeping and selling of parts of endangered species. On Monday, 19 October 2016, a search warrant was executed at Allawi’s home address in Hertfordshire, by officers from the Met’s Wildlife Crime Unit, the Dog Unit and supporting officers.  During the search three rhinoceros horns, two elephant tusks and four hippopotamus tusks were seized. The rhinoceros horns were detected by MPS search dogs specially trained to identify the scent of rhino horn.

An excellent collaboration between the MPS Wildlife Crime Unit and the MPS Dog Unit. The MPS Dog Support Unit currently have a number of search dogs trained to find Rhino Horn, Ivory and Tiger Bone. Officers can contact the unit on :

Metropolitan Police Dog Training Est. 020 8649 1661