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Nogales - K-9 units are a key technology along the border in the fight against narcotic trafficking. We spent a day with the Customs and Border Protection to see how effective these K-9 units are.

"Extremely effective," says Brian Levin, the Public Affairs Liaison with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"As a dog handler, they kind of take over your love." For security reasons, we will not identify Pepper's handler.

She is a five year old female Belgian Malinois and is considered a sworn officer with a badge number.

The team works several areas at the ports of entry in Nogales.

Pepper's mission: sniff out drugs.

"We also have K-9s that are trained in detecting concealed humans," says Levin. "Detecting agriculture items, for weapons and currency, in some cases K-9s that are in the service for detecting explosives."

Pepper has taken about 4300 pounds of narcotics off the streets with an estimated street value of $86,000.

"She's a passive response dog," her handler tells us. "Meaning she will sit down when she comes into an odor."

Pepper notices a red sedan at the Maricopa Port of Entry, so her handler has it pulled out for secondary inspection. Pepper's buddy Alma, a German Shepard, also alerts on it. Agents continue to search the car.

Earlier in the day, K-9s sniffed out about 75 pounds of meth stashed away in the tires of an S.U.V.

As the sunsets on the border at Naco, illegal crossing attempts rise.

"This is Sparky. I have had him going on 5 years," his handler says.

Sparky is a 6 year old German Shepard cross.

Unlike pepper, his mission is to find people hiding in the desert.

"The K-9s are a great asset out in the field, up in the mountains, in the brush," says Ed Gonzalez, U.S. Border Patrol Agent and K-9 instructor. "Trying to find people that are actually still trying to make their way across."

On this day a group of 13 people was spotted coming over the fence. The K-9 handler's job is to read his dog and recognize the alerts.

"Follow the K-9 to the source of odor which will be the concealed humans," says Gozalez.

With Sparky in the lead, half a dozen Border Patrol agents find the crossers hunkered down in the brush.

Sparky is credited with over 5,000 human apprehensions.

"It's hard to find the words to describe, when your dog alerts to either people or narcotics, and be able to follow the dogs to the find."

Sparky also seized $13,000 in cash and several thousands of pounds of narcotics. The agents from both agencies tell us their K-9 partners are irreplaceable.