KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 -- In the fight against cable theft, an unlikely ally has emerged - trained sniffer dogs - that are now leading patrols across hard-to-reach areas where authorities once struggled to cover vast, hidden stretches of rail track.

Despite persistent cable thefts along the combined 116km stretch of the Kajang and Putrajaya MRT lines, even with heightened security enforcement, these furry companions have proven indispensable.

Prasarana Group chief health, safety, security, environment and sustainable development officer Idzqandar Abu Bakar said that using K9 units allowed patrol teams to cover larger areas more efficiently than relying solely on manpower.

This meant conducting sectorial patrols with sniffer dogs direct...