The government has conferred commendation medals for Lucky and Flo in recognition of the canines' outstanding work in stemming piracy in the country.

The two dogs, which are the world's first to be trained in identifying optical discs by scent, will soon leave for New York and from there to Toronto as part of their anti-piracy tour of duty.

Lucky and Flo have been working alongside Malaysian enforcement officers since March 2007 to detect hidden counterfeit optical discs targeted for distribution by pirate syndicates.

The award presentation was held in Putrajaya this morning.

"We are very pleased to bestow this honor on Lucky and Flo," said Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs S Veerasingam.

"What they have helped us to achieve in such a short time is remarkable. We wish them the very best at their next port of call and hope they will come back and visit us again," he added.

The dogs were initially introduced in a month-long trial programme code-named "Operation Double Trouble." The programme was aimed in part at providing the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs with the opportunity to thoroughly consider the feasibility of establishing a dog unit within its enforcement division.

The dogs' successes appear to bode well for such a development. Since March 13, Lucky and Flo's keen noses have led to 26 arrests and seizures totaling an estimated figure in excess of US$6 million. Included in this value are over 1.6 million optical discs, three DVD replicating machines and 97 CD-R burners.

Bounty on their heads

Perhaps the best measure of their achievements is demonstrated by a rather more grisly statistic - that of the bounty on their heads.

Following the March raid of a shopping complex in Johor Baru, where the dogs assisted authorities in the identification and seizure of over one million pirated discs worth over US$2.6 million, the Malaysian government reported threats that syndicate bosses were offering a RM100,000 (US$29,000) reward for their heads. Since then, the dogs have been closely guarded.

"Lucky and Flo have done us proud," said Dan Glickman, chairperson and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) in a statement.

"Clearly, our canine colleagues proved valued friends in the war against optical disc piracy in Malaysia though the pirating operations we busted may not agree. I look forward to catching up with Lucky and Flo when they come to the US," he said.

As a result of the success of Lucky and Flo as canine anti-piracy investigators, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs is setting up its own K9 unit, with MPA donating two Labradors to start it off.

"The dogs have proven to be a major asset in our fight against the pirates and we intend to continue what Lucky and Flo have set in motion" said Veerasingam.

"We are very happy with the results of the deployment of Lucky and Flo in Malaysia," said Glickman.

""This has been reinforced by the ministry's initiatives to tackle the piracy problem. Its aggressive enforcement measures clearly indicate a zero-tolerance policy regarding piracy.

"The success in Malaysia is a reflection of how effective we can be as partners. We can defeat the pirates. As long as government and industry join hands, we will win the hearts and minds of the public," he added.