On Monday evening another attempt by Pakistani smugglers was foiled by BSF as the personnel shot down another drone at the Channo village. Reportedly, the drone was carrying a shipment of drugs which was recovered by the officials. The BSF Officials have stated that around 2 and a half kilos of heroin were seized from the drone.
Last week as well a drone was shot down by BSF personnel in Gurdaspur at the Shahpur border. It was around 4:30 in the morning when 73 BSF soldiers were on patrol in the area and a movement of the drone was witnessed after which it was brought down through 17 rounds of firing. A search operation was also initiated and it was suspected that the drone may contain a consignment of either weapons or drugs.
Drone activities from international borders have seen a sudden rise in Punjab. According to the reports that have been received, 191 drone activities have been witnessed in the last nine months out of which 171 were initiated from Pakistan borders. It was alone from January 1 to September 15 that 7 drones were shot down by the BSF, but this number has raised several concerns related to the internal security of the country.
Security is at stake because according to the officials of BSF, the drones being sent from the Pakistani side are used to transport weapons, explosives, narcotics, etc and till now the drones that were recovered carried AK Series assault rifles, pistols, MP4 carbines, high explosives and grenades. An attempt was made to transfer all these ammunition and drugs into the territory of India.
Earlier drugs used to get supplied through borders, pipes and other means but suddenly there has been a trend that has started, the initiation of narco-terrorism with the help of drones. The fact that is pertinent to be mentioned is that the Punjab border does not have the latest technology to tackle this problem.
These activities have also been brought to the notice of Home Minister, Amit Shah in the security review meeting with top security and intelligence chiefs. Certain strategies have been decided by the government along with the state police to find a solution for the increased drone activity on the Punjab border that can cause a serious threat to its security.