A squad of drug-sniffing squirrels is training to join China’s police

The newest prospective members of an anti-drug police squad are discreet, quick and agile. Once they’re fully trained, they could be deployed to large, complex sites such as logistics warehouses to uncover drugs that may be hidden there.

These are not elite narcotics officers. They are squirrels.

This week, a police unit in southwestern China said it had “successfully trained” six Eurasian red squirrels to sniff out drugs, as part of a national initiative to test the use of animals other than dogs in drug-busting operations.