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AP - Galt, Calif. - It turns out that cell phones smell. And their distinct odor can lead a well-trained canine to a device hidden under a mattress, stashed into a wall or tucked into a fan or radio.
Inmates use them to arrange drug deals, plot escapes and attacks, coordinate riots and harass victims.
"They have 24 hours a day to figure out how to hide these from us," said Sgt. Wayne Conrad, who leads the K-9 program in California. "I couldn't tell you how long it would take me to go through every nook and cranny in a cell. But when these dogs work, they pick up the odor and go right to it."
For security reasons, Conrad won't say what the scent is, but says dogs can find it whether the phone is on or off, broken into pieces or concealed in another electronic device.
In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, a cell phone discovered by Correctional K-9, Drako, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, is removed from a electrical box, that it was hidden in for a demonstration in a mock prison cell, at a training facility in Galt, Calif. Drako is one of five dogs specially trained to sniff out cell phones that have been smuggled into California prisons.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, Drako, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, alerts his handler, Correctional Officer Brian Pyle, that he has located contraband in an electrical outlet, during a demonstration at a training facility in Galt, Calif. Drako is one of five dogs specially trained to sniff out cell phones that have been smuggled into California prisons.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, Correctional K-9, Drako, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, searches a bunk for a cell phone in a mock prison cell, with his handler, Correctional Officer Brian Pyle, during a demonstration at a training facility in Galt, Calif. Drako is one of five dogs specially trained to sniff out cell phones that have been smuggled into California prisons.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, Drako,a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, trained to sniff out cell phones, is seen with his handler, Correctional Officer Brian Pyle, at a training faciltiy in Galt, Calif. Drako is one of five dogs specially trained to sniff out cell phones that have been smuggled into California prisons.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, the badge of Correctional K-9 , Caesar, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois, is seen on the dog at a training facility in Galt, Calif. Caesar is one of five dogs specially trained to sniff out cell phones that have been smuggled into California prisons.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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