A furry hero with a nose for crime sniffed out one of the city of Fontana's biggest drug busts in recent history.
Axel is a four-year-old K-9 with the Fontana Police Department who was just recently certified in narcotics detection. But he is putting his training and his nose to good use.
Axel performed a traffic stop with Officer Brad Terwilliger when his skills came in handy. After Terwilliger asked the driver if anything illegal was in the car, Axel sniffed out that not everything was what it seemed. Near the center of the car, Axel sniffed something amiss and alerted Terwilliger.
"We got back to the same area he showed interest in the first time," said Terwilliger. "He instantly stopped, dropped underneath the car and started sniffing really really hard."
What Axel didn't know was that he just sniffed out one of Fontana's biggest drug busts ever.
"When they stacked it up in pyramid style then they told us the weight of all of it, it's just insane to think about. That's a lot of narcotics."
In just one traffic stop, more 336 pounds of meth and 24 kilos of cocaine was confiscated.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"He definitely got some extra pats and ear rubs," said Terwilliger.
It's not all work and no play for Axel. But when it's time to work Axel proves he isn't going to roll over on the next suspect.
"When you let him out, he runs straight to the garage door, like 'Hey, open this I need to get to my unit," said Terwilliger.
That dedication is something that made Terwilliger trust Axel completely.
"They sit there and they tell us, 'Trust your dog, trust your dog, trust your dog,'" said Terwilliger. "Well it's hard sometimes, but I trusted him and it definitely paid off."