A famous dog trained to sniff out pirated discs has been found dead in the undisclosed location where it was kenneled.

The dog worked for a Malaysian unit which has been targeted by criminals.

The New Straits Times

said that Manny, a one-year-old golden Labrador which arrived in Malaysia in February, died about a week ago and that authorities were trying to determine the cause.

"We have sent Manny’s body to the University Putra Malaysia for a post-mortem," said Roslan Mahayuddin, the enforcement director of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

"He had not started work yet so I doubt that there was anyone who wanted to harm him."

Manny and Paddy, another dog, were the latest additions to the world’s first anti-piracy canine unit.

The first dogs, another pair of Labradors named Lucky and Flo, made headlines last year after doing serious damage to the lucrative illegal industry by uncovering huge stashes of pirated CDs.

During a five-month stint, they sniffed out 1.6 million CDs, leading counterfeiters to place bounties on their heads.

Paddy and Manny, donated by the U.S.-based Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), began work in April after spending some time getting used to the climate.

MPAA reportedly spent $31,800 to buy the dogs which are trained to freeze or sit when they detect polycarbonate and other chemicals used in making optical discs.