KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — In the fight against cable theft, an unlikely ally has emerged — trained sniffer dogs — that are now leading patrols across hard-to-reach areas where authorities once struggled to cover vast, hidden stretches of rail track.Despite persistent cable thefts along the combined 116km stretch of the Kajang and Putrajaya MRT lines, even with heightened security enforcement, these furry companions have proven indispensable.Prasarana Group chief health, safety, security, environment and sustainable development officer Idzqandar Abu Bakar said that using K9 units allowed patrol teams to cover larger areas more efficiently than relying solely on manpower.This meant conducting sectorial patrols with sniffer dogs directly on the tracks rather than just at ground level.“Previously, we had incidents where thieves concealed themselves under the concrete ducts housing the cables and that is why we brought in the dogs to patrol the elevated tracks.“So, this is one of the latest steps that we have taken and it can speed up the process of detecting potential thieves and thefts,” he said during an after-hours track inspection near the MRT Taman Naga Emas station here recently.Since January, a total of 16 thefts have been recorded, Idzqandar revealed, with each incident resulting in losses between RM60,000 and RM80,000 for the cable cost alone.Thieves usually target power cables but often sever signal, off-current, and communication cables, further elevating the risk of greater service disruptions. Power cables, including signal, communication and traction power cables, are targeted by thieves along rail tracks for their valuable metal content. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin In January alone, 10 incidents were reported for both the MRT Kajang and Putrajaya Lines — after thieves altered their modus operandi, exploiting new entry points along the rail lines, including ground breaches, hillside access, low piers and adjacent infrastructures.“They are always testing new methods (of entry)...they are always looking for the weakest link.”Nevertheless, Idzqandar said the added presence of sniffer dogs near several identified hotspots along the rail alignments deters trespassing by acting as sentries at night.“Sometimes these hotspots cover a large area and relying on a single guard at night is difficult,” he said, adding that 13 such hotspots have been identified and reinforced thus far.
Sniffer dogs are trained to flush out concealed cable-cutting tools and hidden suspects, including those sheltering in concrete ducts that house cables. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin He said the dogs are also trained to flush out concealed cable-cutting tools hidden in undergrowth, as well as thieves in hiding who might otherwise evade human detection. “Many of the incidents take place at night and the dogs allow us to perform quick sweeps of hard-to-reach areas when we de-energise the tracks,” he said.As cable thieves continuously adapt to existing enforcement measures by exploiting weaknesses wherenever possible and becoming increasingly sophisticated, Idzqandar said Prasarana is focused on staying one step ahead, with the deployment of sniffer dogs serving as a testament to that commitment.