A first, Pakistani drone flies 10 km inside Indian territory

Tribune News Service

Ravi Dhaliwal

Dhariwal (Gurdaspur), May 26

A Pakistani drone flew into India at the dead of night, dropped an 11 kg consignment of high-purity heroin and instead of flying back, it travelled 10 km deep into the Indian territory, leaving security officers flummoxed.

Normally, state and not-state Pakistani actors send drones, carrying payloads of contraband and in some cases arms and ammunition, which drop consignments in and around villages located near the International Border (IB) before returning. Security officers admit that this is perhaps the first time that a drone from Pakistan has travelled so deep into Indian terrain.

This being election time, top government and opposition leaders have been visiting Gurdaspur district that has gained infamy for the drone-drug disturbance. On May 24, PM Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Dinanagar in the district.

Senior officers are maintaining a stoic silence. “We can’t reveal much at this stage. Investigations are still on. However, we admit that the distance to which the drone made its way is really alarming,” said an officer engaged in the search operation.

Officers, however, admitted that as drone technology becomes cheaper with every passing day and is more accessible to acquire, the problem is accelerating fast. Normally, the drones seized by the BSF have ‘Made-in-China’ markings on them.

Today’s incident has come as a massive setback to the security agencies fighting the drone-drug menace.

At around 1.30 am, BSF personnel of 27th Battalion manning the Chandu Wadala Border Outpost heard some unusual noise. They fired at the drone that instead of flying back into Pakistani territory started flying in the opposite direction.

Finally, it crashed near Talwandi Virk village near Dhariwal township, 10 km from where it dropped its consignment. “In all probability, it fell down after its battery got exhausted,” said an officer.

Officers said the precise quantity of heroin dropped by the drone was 10.760 kg packed into two yellow coloured nylon packets.

Normally, the heroin pushed into India by Pakistan is of very high quality because it comes from Afghanistan, a country known for producing heroin of the highest standards.

The police said they were investigating the incident. Sources, however, point out to the fact that it was rare that the cops lay hands on the drugs’ actual recipients. Heroin packets dropped in villages near the IB are taken to a safe place by ‘local carriers’. These carriers then pass on the packets to a person, or persons, who have their faces covered and carry no mobiles for fear of being detected. This operation is usually carried out in small townships, just near from where the shipment is dropped by drones.

The cops often nab the carriers, but it is here where their investigations and trail ends. This is because the carriers do not know the identity of the person to whom they had passed the heroin packets.

Had the BSF and police not seized today’s shipment, in all probability it would have travelled beyond the borders of Gurdaspur into other cities consequently destroying the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of youth. There was also the possibility of the drug being consumed by youngsters in Gurdaspur and nearby cities.

In the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat, the drone-drug issue has taken center-stage in the run up to the General Election. Ex-Dy CM and Congress candidate Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has gone on record as saying that when he was the Home Minister he had called a meeting of all security agencies, including Punjab Police.

“Officers told me that developing an anti-drone system was an expensive proposition. Until an antidote to the drones is found, it will be difficult to eradicate the menace. I will approach the Defence Research and Development Organisation for help, once I become an MP,” he said.

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