SYDNEY, Australia: They're tough, they're ready, they're Australia's newest breed of law enforcers. And they're worth $A90,000 ($72,000) each.

They're the newly-trained Australian Federal Police (AFP) explosive-detection dogs which will be deployed during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' conference next month in Sydney.

Come September, Australia's 'Harbour City' will host the annual summit for the heads of government from the 21 member countries. Twenty-two young Labradors will be the security front line, ensuring the safety of world leaders, including US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

APEC is "an economic forum for a group of Pacific Rim countries to discuss matters on regional economy, cooperation, trade and investment." It was founded in 1989 after then-Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke called for more effective economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. The first APEC meeting was held in Canberra, Australia.

Despite their daunting and deadly serious task, these bomb-sniffing Labradors are honed for a 'vigorous sense of play.' In this case, play for these canine teams means sniffing for explosive devices. As with other bomb-sniffing canines, when they detect a suspicious car, briefcase or rubbish bin, the dogs are trained to sit alongside it and wait for a police officer to reward them with a tummy rub and some rough-and-tumble.

AFP Superintendent Phil Spence, talking to The Sydney Morning Herald, said, "It's all about fun for them. The whole thing is about play. They love it."

After the completion of their 'play training', each Labrador is estimated to be worth $A90,000 ($72,000)each. This is part of the Australian government's allotted $A170 million ($150m) budget for the security of APEC participants.

Supt. Spence is confident of the canine's bomb-detection ability. After all, Labradors boast 220 million olfactory sensory cells (cells which can detect scent) in their nose, compared to only five million in humans.

During the APEC week, each Labrador will have its own handler. Some of the dogs have a special kennel in the backyard of their handler's home while others are housed in Federal Police kennels. While the canines have a friendly relationship with their handlers, when it comes to their peers the dogs are more competitive. During the class photo shoot, the labs were snapping up at each other. "They don't like one another because they all want to be the best," explained Supt. Spence.

After their APEC assignment, the 22 canines will undergo more training, this time in drug detection. They will then join 15 existing canine teams based at Australia's airports.