Drug hauls from the Indo-Pak border have recorded a marginal decline from about 660 kg in 2021 to a little over 507 kg in the first nine months of this year. This has also been marked by a three-fold jump in drone sightings along the frontier and the shooting of 10 unmanned aerial vehicles.
Of the 659.945 gm of drugs seized in 2021, a maximum of 486.260 kg was recovered from the frontier along Punjab followed by 81.640 kg from Rajasthan, 39.100 kg from Gujarat and 37.145 kg from Jammu besides 14.230 kg from Kashmir, according to official data.
In 2022, a maximum of 216.910 kg was seized from the Punjab frontier followed by 208.665 kg from Gujarat, 49.40 kg from Jammu and 32.047 kg from Rajasthan besides 0.350 kg from Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC).
The seizures of contraband from the frontier with Pakistan has also witnessed a sharp spike in sightings of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones along the Indo-Pak border and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir which increased thrice from 109 in 2021 to 327 this year till September.
From January to September this year, as many as 236 drones were sighted from Punjab followed by observation of 51 such flying machines in Jammu, 24 in Rajasthan, six in Gujarat, five in Kashmir and two in Jammu.
In 2021, just 64 drones were sighted in Punjab followed by 31 in Jammu, seven in Gujarat, two in Gujarat, three in Kashmir and two in Jammu.
Over the last few years, drones have been used as a medium of logistics by Pakistani agencies for sending arms, ammunition and drugs especially along the Punjab frontier for onward supply to the terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir and for generation of terror funding.
The Border Security Force that secures the frontier with Pakistan, on its part, is seeking to devise technological means to counter threats emanating from the drones coming from across the border.
However, the recovery of arms and ammunition along the northern and western border with Pakistan has substantially reduced till September this year due to the heightened vigil by the security forces deployed on the ground.
As many as 45 rounds and arms and 595 rounds of ammunition were recovered till September this year in contrast to recovery of 84 arms and 5,284 rounds of ammunition in 2021, according to official data.
However, the number of drones carrying narcotics as also arms and ammunition in the Punjab sector has increased in the last nine months even as the BSF has sought down 10 drones along the Punjab frontier till now.
Most of the arms and ammunition were recovered from the Punjab border with 501 live rounds and 32 arms being seized from this border this year followed by 90 rounds of ammunition and 11 arms being seized from Jammu sector, one weapon and three live rounds being seized from Gujarat.
In 2021, as many as 3,322 live rounds and 58 arms were recovered from Jammu and 347 such ammunitions and 10 arms were seized from Gujarat along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, 463 ammunitions were recovered from Jammu and 1,152 ammunition and 84 arms were seized from Kashmir.
Apprehension of ultras along the Indo-Pak border has also declined from 182 in 2021 to 170 in the first nine months of this year. As many as 97 suspects were apprehended in 2021 from Punjab followed by 42 in Rajasthan, 29 in Gujarat and eight in Jammu besides six from the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2022, a total of 82 suspects were nabbed from Punjab, followed by 39 from Gujarat, 36 from Rajasthan and nine from Jammu. No suspect has been apprehended from the LoC till September this year.
In 2021 and number has marginally been down with 170 apprehensions till September this year excluding those nabbed from Line of Control which was six last year and till September this year.