A trainer and his sniffer dog demonstrate drug detection to a group of audience on Sniffer Open Day, which was jointly organized by Guangzhou Customs and Children's Palace Guangzhou on Sunday. [Photo by Chi Zhao'en/For chinadaily.com.cn]

"Find it!"

With a command from its trainer, a sniffer dog quickly patrols several suitcases of identical shape and then sat in front of one of them.

Onlookers saw a bag of drug when a customs officer opened the suitcase. The entire process took less than 30 seconds.

The excellent performance of the sniffer dog immediately won a round of applause in Huacheng Square in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Sunday.

Two sniffer dogs were the stars of Sniffer Open Day, which was jointly organized by Guangzhou Customs and Children's Palace Guangzhou. The event attracted a large number of local residents and curious children.

Customs officers said sniffer dogs have played an important role in fighting drug smuggling in Guangzhou in recent months, as the animals consistently and accurately locate drugs hidden in suitcases carried by passengers at exit and entry checkpoints.

According to customs statistics, officers across the southern metropolis have seized more than 180 kilograms of various drugs after cracking down on a total of 186 drug smuggling cases with the help of sniffer dogs in recent years.

Guangzhou Customs is now training eight sniffer dogs and a gun dog, plus another one that can detect the odor of ivory, rhinoceros horn, pangolin scales and parts of other endangered species.