DURBAN - The SAPS paid tribute to a female K-9 narcotics handler, Warrant Officer Cheryl Ellis, in celebration of Women’s Month.
Ellis, 45, from Phoenix in Durban, is one of 147 female K-9 handlers in SAPS and is attached to the Durban K-9 unit. She is also the first Indian female K-9 training instructor.
Her message to all female officers is to always believe in themselves.
"Your first step will be the hardest, but the rest will become easier as your journey starts. I believe you can achieve whatever you set your mind to do, as long as you work hard and stay committed," she said.
Ellis began her career in law enforcement as a police reservist before she enlisted as a police officer in 1998. She became a constable after she completed the Basic Police Learning Development Programme training at the SAPS Tshwane Academy in Pretoria.
As a K-9 handler, Ellis executes her policing duties with her partner, a highly-trained police dog.
SAPS said K-9 members rely on their dogs to assist them in tasks requiring a “more animalistic” sense of location and speed.
The police said as a K-9 narcotics handler, Ellis uses the K9’s skills to assist in the execution of certain duties, such as the detection of certain drugs, including cocaine, heroin, mandrax, ecstasy, dagga, nyaope and crystal meth.
Recalling a highlight of her career, Ellis said before the 2010 World Cup, she was at King Shaka International Airport with the K-9 she was partnered with at the time, searching luggage.
She said the dog reacted positively to a suitcase and they waited for an unidentified suspect to collect it.
“Once picked up, we stopped the woman and took her in for questioning and further interrogation. The woman was found to be in possession of R2.7 million worth of cocaine wrapped around her body. The suspect was deported back to Brazil where she was wanted as a drug mule,” said Ellis.
In her role as an instructor, Ellis educates and trains male and female police officers to become dog handlers.
Paying tribute to Ellis, the police said: “To Warrant Officer Ellis and all the female K-9 handlers in the SAPS, we thank you for your contribution in making South Africa a much safer place to live in.”
THE MERCURY