The Border Security Force (BSF) on Sunday seized over 64 kg of heroin from the Ravi river that flows along the India-Pakistan international border in Gurdaspur.
The contraband, weighing 64.33 kg, was found in 60 packets concealed in long fabric cloth tubes and tied to a bunch of water hyacinth floating in the river, they said.
The consignment was “pushed” into the river from Pakistan to the Indian side and BSF troops deployed at the border outpost in Nangli, near Dera Baba Nanak, spotted it in the wee hours, said the officials.
A 1,500-metre-long nylon rope was tied to the consignment of drugs in order to enable someone to pull it towards the bank, they added. BSF Deputy Inspector General Rajesh Sharma said that the troops noticed some suspicious movement in the river around 2 am and swung into action. However, the smugglers managed to flee taking advantage of the darkness, he added.