"Rogue" Drone From Pak Shot Down In Punjab, 15 Kg Drugs Recovered

More than 15 kg of suspected narcotics was recovered by the Border Security Force (BSF) after it intercepted at least two drone sorties coming into India from Pakistan along the International Border in Punjab, a senior officer said on Wednesday.

The first interdiction took place just after midnight in Ramkot village of Amritsar when the troops heard the sound of a drone and subsequent dropping of payload on the ground.

Troops fired in the air to down the flying machine and simultaneously rushed to the spot where they saw three people trying to pick the consignment.  The troops asked them to stop and fired at them but they managed to escape leaving behind five packets containing suspected heroin, a BSF spokesperson said.

The second incident took place around 1:20 am in Kakkar village of the same district when a "rogue" drone from Pakistan violated Indian airspace.  The personnel fired in the air to shoot down the drone and a search of the area led to the recovery of five packets containing suspected heroin, the spokesperson said.

The total amount of heroin recovered in these two incidents is about 15.5 kg, he said.

Punjab shares an over 500 km-long front with Pakistan that is guarded by the BSF and drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) taking flight from that country into India with drugs and arms and ammunition payloads have become a matter of concern for security agencies over the last three-four years.

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