Eyes in the sky : Stopping drones before drugs land
The Tribune Editorial : Technology must be matched to dismantle trafficking syndicates
PUNJAB’s decision to deploy ‘hawai nakas’ —aerial checkpoints — to intercept drones carrying drugs and weapons from across the Pakistan borders is an innovative response to an evolving security threat. Smuggling syndicates have embraced technology faster than law enforcement, replacing human couriers with GPS-guided drones capable of dropping heroin, arms and ammunition deep inside Indian territory. Conventional road checkpoints can do little against an enemy that flies overhead. The scale of the challenge is daunting. Punjab has emerged as the epicentre of drone-assisted narcotics trafficking, with almost all such incidents reported in the country occurring along its border. The drug trade has long ceased to be merely a law-and-order problem. It is a public health emergency that has devastated countless families, while also posing a grave national security threat as the same routes are used to ferry weapons and finance terror networks.
