BSF jawans posted at the Chauntra border outpost in Kalanaur police station, India, recently detected a Pakistani-controlled drone hovering near the International Border (IB). The drone attempted to cross over to the Indian side but aborted the flight midway and disappeared, leaving the Indian security personnel worried about future drone incursions. New Gurdaspur SSP Damaya Harish Kumar Omparkash and Batala counterpart Ashwini Goyal, who have just taken over their positions, will have to develop a strategy to counter the challenge posed by drones.
The smuggling of heroin through drones has become common, and mobile phones have made it easy for smugglers to bring in drugs from Pakistan. From December 14 to 18, 2022, a drone made several attempts to fly in heroin in the jurisdiction of the Kalanaur police station. The police managed to detect only two sorties, while the other remained undetected. The cops were able to seize a few kilograms of heroin, but the damage caused by the undetected drone remains unknown.
Drones have been a significant challenge for the security agencies, and their flights have been reported from the Dorangla, Kalanaur, and Dera Baba Nanak police stations. The police have to launch massive search operations and comb vast tracts of agricultural land to ensure that nothing incriminating has been dropped. However, under these circumstances, the resources of the police are stretched to a wire, as the combing operations take nearly 8 to 14 hours to complete.
The BSF officials claim that the trials of some anti-drone guns developed by Indian agencies have not been that successful. It is next to impossible to break the drug supply chain, which is wrapped in complete anonymity. The carriers who ferry drugs from one place to the other follow instructions only from their Pakistani handlers. Catching the drug carriers will have to be looked into by the new police chiefs. The new incumbents would do well to regularly raid villages located near the IB because they are known to be inhabited with carriers.
(Inputs from Tribune)
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The Chenab Times News Desk