A forensic analysis of a drone shot down by security forces in Amritsar, Punjab, last December showed that it was flown in parts of China and then in Pakistan before it was used to smuggle drugs across the Indo-Pak border, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
“The forensic analysis of the drone showed that it was flown in Feng Xian district of Shanghai in China on July 11, 2022. Later between September 24 and December 25, 2022 (the day it was shot down), it was flown 28 times within Khanewal in Pakistan,” a Border Security Force (BSF) officer aware of the development said.
The issue of Pakistan using drones and quadcopters to smuggle drugs and weapons has increased since 2019. Security personnel usually find heroin packets attached to the drones. In some cases, they have also found Chinese pistols tied to the drones. While this was an issue constrained to the Indo-Pak border, security personnel have started spotting drones with drugs near the Rajasthan border too.
While eight drones were shot down in the last two weeks, at least 22 drones flying into India were shot down last year by the security forces. In May 2019, BSF spotted the first case of a drone being used as a drug carrier device which has now increased manifold. These repeated incidents this year have prompted BSF personnel to increase surveillance at the border.
Sharing details of the latest case, a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson said the security forces, on December 25 last year, shot down a drone which entered the Indian territory in Rajatal, Amritsar.
According to the BSF personnel, the drone was later sent to the BSF headquarters for forensic analysis. After analysing, details of the drone’s flight path were found in China and Pakistan, he said.
BSF officials have said that most drones they recover or shoot down are manufactured in China and have batteries manufactured by a Karachi-based company.
HT’s analysis of the 2022 and 2023 cases of drones shot down by BSF shows that different routes along the border line were used to smuggle drugs, mostly heroin. Opium was smuggled only in one case in December last year. The drones were flown at night and could carry weights varying from 2-10 kg.
According to reports, drone sightings along the 2,289 km-long India-Pakistan International Border running along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat were 77 in 2020, 104 in 2021 and 311 in 2022.
