NEWS RELEASE

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office would like to introduce to the community the newest member of our Canine Unit, a German Shorthaired Pointer named Groot.

Groot will work with the Interstate Criminal Enforcement (ICE) Team after completing the Canine Training Academy in a few weeks. Groot, who is 15 months old, will work with his new handler, Deputy Matt Talbert.

Groot will be fully trained and certified in narcotics detection. More importantly, and most impressively, Groot will be one of the first canines in North Carolina to be trained to detect Fentanyl. He will also be trained in tracking and article detection. These areas are extremely important when we have missing persons or need to be able to detect and locate items of evidence at crime scenes.

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office state's oldest Interstate Criminal Enforcement Teams in North Carolina. Iredell County has 60 miles of interstate highway, with Interstate 77 running from North to South and Interstate 40 running East to West. The Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team often encounters a myriad of 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.