Punjab: Drone intrusion increased on Pak border despite countermeasures
Punjab: The use of drones to smuggle heroin, arms and ammunition continues to be a major challenge for the Border Security Force (BSF) and other intelligence and security agencies during 2024. Despite several anti-drone measures being implemented, this year saw a major rise in infiltration cases by rogue drones from across the international border, with the Amritsar border area remaining the favourite infiltration point. Of the 286 drones intercepted by the BSF along the 553-km-long India-Pakistan border in Punjab this year, 164 were intercepted in the border area in Amritsar sector alone, followed by Tarn Taran, where 75 drones were seized. Last year, the number of interceptions across the entire border area in the state was pegged at 107. A total of 86 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were intercepted in the last 45 days alone.
According to Punjab Police officials, many drones return undetected after dropping consignments. Most of the banned and ultra-modern weapons seized by the police this year were smuggled through drones. A senior police officer said that the explosives used in the recent attacks on police establishments were also smuggled in from Pakistan through drones. Several drones found damaged in the border areas indicate that the smugglers had recovered the consignments related to these drones from this side of the border even before these UAVs were seized by the security agencies. According to the data, this year the BSF seized 280 kg of high-grade heroin. Of this, 115 kg was seized in Amritsar and 58 kg in Tarn Taran border areas.
Besides this, the BSF also seized 36 pistols and apprehended 159 people, including 92 cross-border drug smugglers and 67 other suspects, who were later handed over to the police. Similarly, 30 Pakistani intruders, two Bangladeshi nationals and one Afghan national were also arrested. Four Pakistani intruders, three of them on the Amritsar border, were killed by the force. A BSF official said GPS analysis of the drones indicated the role of Pakistan-based agencies behind these intrusions. He said technical countermeasures helped alert troops to shoot down the drones. He said the BSF is enhancing anti-drone measures.
