Minnesota BCA K9 sniffs out electronics used by child predators

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s first-ever K9, a four-year-old black lab named Sota, is one of a handful of dogs across the country trained to sniff out electronic storage devices.

Sota is trained to detect a chemical called triphenylphosphine, commonly referred to as TPPO. This chemical is a part of all electronic storage devices, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, USB storage drives and SD cards. The chemical is an industry standard, and as Sota’s handler, Special Agent Lucas Munkelwitz explains, there’s nothing people can do to remove that smell and conceal a device.

"Ultimately, there’s nothing you can do about odor," Munkelwitz said. "You can seal it, put it in water, and these dogs can find it."

Munkelwitz says Sota found electronic devices hidden in air vents, refrigerators, and large storage bins in attics and basements. She’s mainly working with the BCA’s human trafficking and internet crimes against children divisions. Her finds have led to charges against several child predators caught owning or distributing child pornography.

"A lot of people would not be criminally charged or sentenced to prison if it wasn’t for Sota," Munkelwitz said.

Along with her work at the BCA, Sota has helped other agencies in their searches. Special Agent Munkelwitz says she’s helped find evidence in homicide investigations for other police agencies. Sota even helped investigators in Wisconsin with a search that led to child pornography charges against a former Milwaukee County Juvenile Court Judge.

"These items are very important in our cases. They’re important pieces, and they’re able to help us be able to prosecute someone successfully," Senior Special Agent Rachel Pearson, Commander of the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Task Force, said.

Pearson says not only does the evidence Sota finds lead to stronger cases in court, her finds potentially take images of children out of circulation. The evidence also gives victims power in court. With this evidence, an entire case doesn’t rely solely on the victim’s testimony.

"She is fighting crime with us every single day, and she’s making sure we’re keeping children safe," Pearson said.

Sota has also become a beloved coworker at BCA’s headquarters in St. Paul. When she’s not sniffing out crime, Sota acts as a therapy dog both in the office and out on crime scenes.

"She’s in everybody’s office playing with them and giving people some emotional support as well," Munkelwitz said. "My kids like to ride her like a dinosaur, like a horse. She’s more a member of our family than people would think."

Sota joined the BCA after the agency applied for a grant with the organization Underground Railroad, a non-profit focused on combating human trafficking. Underground Railroad pays for these K9s and their expensive training before donating them to law enforcement agencies.

Since then, she’s gone on more than 100 searches with the BCA and other law enforcement agencies. She’s found more than 65 devices, many of those leading to charges against child predators.

Sota has been so successful the BCA decided to add another K9, Luna, to their agency. Luna mainly works out of BCA offices in Bemidji.