Punjab Police on Friday seized two highly sophisticated Chinese-made drones used for smuggling drugs from Pakistan. The seizures, from Modhe village in Amritsar and another from Karnal in Haryana, were made after the Police arrested three Pak handlers, including a serving Army soldier and two drug smugglers belonging to a narco-terror module.
Announcing this, the state DGP Dinkar Gupta said that the module is involved in smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border, and the seizures were the result of targeted and intelligence-led search operations.
Along with the two drones, the police has also recovered 12 drone batteries, custom-made drone containers, two walkie-talkie sets, Rs 6.22 lakh in cash, one i20 car, believed to be proceeds of drugs, and the magazine of an INSAS rifle.
The three arrested were identified as Dharminder Singh from Dhanoa Khurd village in Amritsar, Rahul Chauhan of Ambala Cantt in Haryana, and Balkar Singh of Kalas village in Amritsar (Rural).
While Dharminder Singh was arrested from Hardo Rattan village, about 3 km from the India-Pakistan border, Balkar Singh had been lodged in Amritsar Jail in a NDPS case and was brought on production warrant.
Haryana’s Chauhan, an army man, was reportedly involved in procuring and supplying drones and training to cross-border smugglers.
DGP said that the two members of the narco-terror module were still absconding and efforts were on to nab them. Further investigations were underway to ascertain details about the accused ties with terrorist outfits, radicals, drug smugglers and other anti-national elements, he added.
Gupta said that the drones, capable of travelling two to three kms on either side of the border, were reportedly being launched from the Indian side to fly into Pakistan to pick up payloads of narcotics. They had apparently already conducted four to five sorties, he added.
“This is the first documented case where drones have been used to smuggle narcotics,” said the DGP while addressing the media along with ADGP (Internal Security) RN Dhoke, IG Border Range SPS Parmar, and Tarn Taran SSP Dhruv Dhaiya.
“Since August, there are in all three documented cases of drones bringing supply. Earlier, the drones carried the weapons, but this is the first documented case of drone carrying narcotics,” said the DGP adding that no drugs had yet been recovered.
According to the DGP, the module members had revealed that they were involved in cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons over drones over the past few months. Certain Pakistan-based drug smugglers, who were sending the drugs and weapons from across the border in Pakistan, had also come to notice, he added.
Preliminary investigations had confirmed that Rahul Chauhan was directly involved in operating drone sorties across the border for picking up heroin as well as weapons from Pakistan, along with his associates in India and Pakistan.
“He and his accomplices were in direct contact with Pakistani smugglers on encrypted OTT platforms,” said the DGP, adding that the plan was to send one of the walkie-talkie sets across the border to Pakistan to facilitate two-way communication.
“The first drone, a Chinese made DJI INSPIRE 2 drone (Quadcopter) was recovered from an abandoned government Dispensary building in Modhe village in Amritsar (Rural), where it had been hidden by Dharminder Singh and his associate drug smugglers.
The second drone, a Chinese made DJI MATRICE 600 PRO (Hexacopter), was recovered from a house in Karnal (Haryana) on the disclosures of Rahul Chauhan.
Gupta said that the Punjab Police had launched a covert operation to ensure close monitoring and checking of the border areas in view of the recent influx of weapons and drugs across the border through drones as well as other means.
“Special nakas had been set up in the border areas as part of these special operations to focus on suspicious activities on the border as well as the possible collusion among drug and weapon smugglers, cross-border gun-runners, radicals etc,” he said.
It was during this special operation that the police gathered inputs that one Balkar Singh, who was lodged in Amritsar Jail in a NDPS case, was smuggling drugs and weapons using drones, along with his associates.
Following such inputs, a case was registered at Police Station Gharinda of Amritsar (Rural) and special teams were formed of officers of the Amritsar (Rural) Police district to operationalise the intelligence leads, said the DGP.
The state police chief pointed that the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had already expressed concern over the recent drone activity along the border, which first came to light in August 2019 post abolition of Article 370, and had raised the issue with the central government, seeking close monitoring by central agencies and forces.
The Central Government has already issued SOPs for use of drones, which, with their ability to fly low without lights and their minimal engine noise, can also be used to target VIPs.
