Three sniffer dogs trained in the UK to detect illegal goods have joined the ranks of Bulgaria's Customs Agency. The handover ceremony took place at the residence of the British ambassador in Bulgaria. Two cocker spaniels, named Dewey and Merlin, and a labrador named Luna will start work tomorrow at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, Sofia airport and the port of Burgas. British ambassador Nathaniel Copsey told the ceremony that the partnership between the two countries is often described as "close" and "strategic", but there is not always a chance to show what lies behind those words. "Today is just such a day," he said. The dogs, he explained, will work alongside their Bulgarian handlers to help find illegal goods and take on the organised crime gangs behind them. Copsey called the dogs' arrival another step in the long-running cooperation between the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and Bulgaria's Customs Agency. No country can beat crime networks alone, he said. That is why they rely on trust between professionals, sharing information and joint operations. Officers on the ground share knowledge and equipment with each other. That is what works between Bulgaria and the UK, and it gets results, the ambassador said. He said big partnerships are rarely built on one-off gestures — they grow step by step, as people work together, solve shared problems and learn to trust one another. Customs Agency director Nikolay Shushkov said the three dogs are part of a bigger project called K-9, which the agency has been running with the British NCA for several years. He also mentioned Adele, a dog that has served in Bulgaria for years and which Shushkov called the most successful dog in Bulgarian customs history so far. The three new dogs are trained to sniff out drugs, cash, rubber used in small boats and weapons. Their training began in the UK, then continued at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing with an instructor from the British services. Shushkov said the instructor gave very high marks both to the handlers and to how well the dogs had adapted to conditions in Bulgaria. The customs chief also thanked the UK for two trailers given along with the dogs, which will let the animals travel comfortably and join the agency's mobile teams.