Security forces foil smuggling bid along Jammu IB, recover 5 kg heroin dropped by Pakistani drone

Based on intelligence inputs, security forces on Monday thwarted a drug smuggling bid across the International Border (IB) in Jammu, recovering two bags dropped by a Pakistani drone. The bags contained more than five kilograms of heroin valued at over ₹25 crore in the international market, officials said.

According to officials, the seizure took place near Border Outpost Jatinder in the RS Pura sector of Jammu during a joint search operation conducted by the Border Security Force (BSF) and local police, PTI reported. They added that the operation was launched around 6 am after a Pakistani drone was spotted flying over the Indian side of the border.

“During a search operation launched in the morning hours of October 27 near village Bidipur, alert BSF personnel recovered two yellow-coloured packets (containing 10 small packets wrapped within them) weighing approximately 5.300 kg," a BSF spokesperson said, according to the report.

The spokesperson added, “Suspected contraband was recovered from farmland near the village Bidipur. The substance is suspected to be heroin, and appears to have been drone-dropped from across the border. A thorough search of the area is ongoing.”

They added that the seizure of such a large quantity of heroin had prevented a major smuggling attempt from Pakistan, and that police have since registered a case.

Previous recoveries

Earlier, a yellow packet containing 500 grams of heroin, valued at over ₹2 crore, was recovered near the IB in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district in July, just minutes after a Pakistani drone dropped it. Officials said BSF personnel made the recovery in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua.

On 26 July, a Pakistani drone dropped half a kilogram of heroin in the Chillyari border village of Samba district, and police recovered it.

Drug-laden Pak drones ‘significant’ threat to India's internal security, says NCB report

In related news, a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) report released in September said that a "sharp" rise had been observed over the past four years in the sightings and recoveries of drug-laden drones entering India from Pakistan across the international border in Punjab, posing a "significant" threat to the nation’s internal security.

According to its annual report for 2024, anti-narcotics agencies have also recorded a sixfold increase in the seizure of synthetic drugs between 2019 and 2024.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the report during the second national conference of heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF) from various states and Union Territories, which he inaugurated on Tuesday.

The NCB, a federal anti-narcotics agency functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, stated, "The use of drones for cross-border smuggling of narcotics has emerged as a significant threat to India's internal security, particularly along the Pakistan border in Punjab.

"This evolving modus operandi has replaced traditional smuggling methods and poses a complex challenge for law enforcement and border security agencies," the report accessed by PTI said.

The report further noted a "sharp" increase in drone sightings and drug recoveries in Punjab’s border districts such as Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, and Gurdaspur.

In 2024, the number of such seizures "rose manifold," reaching 179 cases compared to only three in 2021. The confiscated consignments primarily consisted of heroin and opium, the report said. Of the 179 drone-related smuggling cases recorded along the India-Pakistan border last year, 163 occurred in Punjab, 15 along the border in Rajasthan, and one in Jammu and Kashmir.

The total quantity of drugs recovered was approximately 236 kilograms, the report revealed. It also indicated a "significant" trend, pointing to a sixfold rise in the seizure of synthetic drugs across the country between 2019 and 2024. These substances included ATS (amphetamine-type stimulants), MDMA, mephedrone, and methaqualone, which are predominantly abused by young people.

The report that comprises all-India figures on narcotics mentioned, "In 2024, about 11,994 kgs of synthetic drugs were seized compared to just 1,890 kgs in 2019. This sharp rise is primarily driven by the high profitability and increasing market demand for these substances.”

(With inputs from PTI)