HAGERSTOWN, MD - For the past year prison officials in Maryland have used K-9's to crack down on the increase of cell phones being snuck into prisons.

Now officials in australia are hoping to do the same.

K-9 trainers from New South Wales are learning new techniques at the Maryland Department of Corrections in Hagerstown this week.

Maryland was the first state ever to train and use their own cell phone detection dogs, and so far the K-9's have tracked down 80 cell phones in state prisons.

"Although we are worlds apart, we face the same issues day to day.  We have the same security issues, we have the same sort of drugs coming in, we have their same sort of issues and gang issues as well," said Troy Seychelles with the New South Wales Correction Department.

Currently there are three dogs that are trained to sniff out cell phones in Maryland.  A fourth one will finish his training soon.