Seven canine teams from the State Customs Service of Ukraine have completed an advanced training programme in Romania focused on detecting drugs, cigarettes, tobacco products and cash, the Romanian Customs Authority (AVR) said on Friday.

The training took place from September 21 to October 2, 2026, at the Romanian Customs Authority's Canine Teams Training Centre in Pantelimon and was organised by the AVR in partnership with the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine).

According to the Romanian Customs Authority, this is the third consecutive year that it has supported the professional development of Ukrainian canine teams. The programme was repeated following the operational results achieved by canine teams from the Odessa Regional Customs Office, which were trained at the same centre in 2024.

AVR President Ioana Badescu highlighted the authority's role in training Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and transferring European best practices.

'We are proud that the Romanian Customs Authority has the expertise and capacity to support law enforcement institutions in neighbouring Ukraine in transferring European best practices and aligning with EU standards. In the current geopolitical context, we are not talking merely about a partnership between authorities with similar missions, but, from the AVR's perspective, about assuming an increasingly important role in ensuring the security of Romania and the European Union,' Ioana Badescu said, according to the statement.

The service dogs of Ukraine's State Customs Service underwent two weeks of training to improve their ability to detect cigarettes and tobacco products, drugs, weapons and ammunition.

Alexandru Ionita, head of the Canine Teams Training Centre, said the presence of canine teams at customs checkpoints also serves a preventive purpose.

'A canine team operates solely on the basis of a strong bond between the dog and its handler and is one of the most effective methods of combating the illegal trafficking of goods. We are also talking about prevention, because, beyond the figures concerning the quantities detected, the dog is also a preventive tool: when traffickers see a canine team at a customs checkpoint, they know they have no way of deceiving us and turn back,' Ionita said.

The training activities focused on testing the dogs' olfactory abilities to detect the substances for which they had been trained, as well as practising search techniques involving various means of transport, including cars, minibuses and trucks, as well as luggage, parcels, goods warehouses and residential searches.

Participants also exchanged experience on methods of working with service dogs, places commonly used to conceal goods and rules of conduct during inspections.

The programme is part of EUAM Ukraine projects aimed at supporting efforts to secure the Ukraine-EU/Romania border.

'EUAM provides advice, training and support to Ukrainian partners to develop operational law enforcement capacity and to apply European principles and best practices in integrated border management (IBM). As the armed conflict caused by the unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to escalate, EU support for Ukraine is increasing year by year, including through EUAM,' said Adrian Costache, Senior Adviser for Integrated Border Management at the EUAM Ukraine Odessa Field Office. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)