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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Transit Police of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is proud to announce the newest member of its police force, K-9 Officer Nico.

Nico, a male Belgian Malinois, comes to RTA from Hungary and lives with his handler, Officer Sean Mahon, who started with the department in 2016.

After being selected as the new K-9 handler, Officer Mahon traveled to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for training with his new partner, and the pair have been inseparable ever since, the department says.

Nico, born on Feb. 16, 2020, is trained in explosives detection and he’s replacing K-9 Officer Cobra, who retired in December 2020.

“We are proud to welcome Nico to Transit Police,” said RTA’s Chief Deirdre Jones. “Nico is the first of what we hope will be many new hires to the RTA police force. His presence rounds out the K-9 team and we are excited to have him on board.”

There are now eight K-9 officers at Transit Police, seven of which are part of the Transportation Security Administration’s Explosives Detection Program.

Meet the team here.