Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh

Chandigarh, May 19: The Border Security Force (BSF) announced that it has seized 100 drones used by terror groups and smugglers to carry weapons, explosives, and drugs across the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab this year. On May 18, the BSF recovered its 100th Pakistani drone, intercepting 111 kg of heroin, 60 weapons, 14 hand grenades, and over 10 kg of high explosives.

The force, deployed along the border, also reported shooting down three Pakistani intruders and apprehending 66 Indian smugglers and three Pakistani nationals. In 2024, the BSF had recovered 294 drones along the same border.

The drones seized this year are mostly commercial models made in China, such as DJI Matrice, DJI Mavic, and DJI Air. Investigations over the past four years have confirmed the involvement of Pakistan-based terror groups in using drones to smuggle drugs and weapons into India at various points along the Punjab border.

Smuggled arms delivered by drones have been linked to several terror incidents, including the killing of Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala and last year’s attack in Jammu that claimed five army personnel. Notably, the ammunition used in the 2023 Sarhali blast, where a rocket-propelled grenade struck a local police station, and the 2022 RPG attack on Punjab Police’s intelligence headquarters in Mohali, was smuggled across the border via drones.