Lucky and Flo get hero's send-off

Putrajaya, Malaysia: Malaysia gave a hero's send-off yesterday to Lucky and Flo, honouring the two DVD-sniffing dogs with medals as they ended a six-month assignment that netted 1.6 million illegal movie discs and sent bootleg peddlers on the run.

The two black Labradors looked puzzled when a multitude of press photographers' flash bulbs went off as Malaysia's deputy trade minister S. Veerasingham placed medals around their necks. Flo wagged her tail furiously and Lucky licked her handler's hand but neither made a fuss or barked.

"What they have helped us achieve in such a short time is remarkable," said Veerasingham. "Malaysia is committed to wiping out piracy and pirates. We will go after them very fast," he said.

The world's first dogs trained to identify optical discs by the scent of their chemicals, Lucky and Flo were loaned to the Malaysian government in March by the Motion Picture Association, a US-based watchdog.

During that stint -dubbed Operation Double Trouble - they helped unearth 1.6 million DVDs and other optical discs, three DVD replicating machines and 97 compact disc burners, worth $6 million (Dh22 million). Twenty-six people were arrested during the raids.