Good boy: Groot is new drug dog in Iredell

Nov. 14. The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office has a new member of the canine unit that will be one of the first dogs in North Carolina to be trained to detect fentanyl.

Meet Groot.

He’s a German Shorthaired Pointer who will work with the Interstate Criminal Enforcement (ICE) Team after completing the Canine Training Academy in a few weeks. Groot will help keep an eye on I-77 and other interstates as drugs make their way through Lake Norman.

Groot, who is 15 months old, will work with Deputy Matt Talbert.

Background

The United States is in the midst of an opioid drug crisis, and fentanyl is responsible for the many overdose fatalities. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office is the state’s oldest Interstate Criminal Enforcement Teams in North Carolina.

The Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team often encounters criminal offenses ranging from driving while impaired, fugitives from justice in transit, narcotics, currency trafficking and all other types of illegal activity arising from traffic stops.