Authorities say a drug-detecting "wonder dog" helped federal agents uncover a shipment of opium-saturated decorative cloth from an international mail processing center near O’Hare International Airport.
Rogue, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, alerted authorities on Tuesday to the more than 28 pounds of narcotics-laden material, which had been shipped from Laos.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said the drugs are valued at more than $300,000.
"Rogue is a wonder dog in the international mail environment," Steven Artino, Chicago's acting CBP Director, said in a statement.
Artino said narcotic seizures from international mail are on the rise in the Chicago area. Rogue, he said, has now found more than 600 shipments of opium in Chicago, totaling more than $4 million."
Rogue transferred to Chicago from Cincinnati last April. His fellow canines include German shepherds, Labradors and beagles.
CBP canines are trained to detect large amounts of currency, illegal narcotics, explosives, humans, or dangerous food and plant material, the agency said.
Another of those dogs in 2012 discovered more than 35 kilograms of opium-saturated twigs in a shipment that also came from Laos.
