The BSF on Sunday seized 64.33 kg of heroin from the Gurdaspur sector in Punjab that was being shipped by the Pakistani drug traders through water hyacinth in the River Ravi.
Till so far this year, the BSF has nabbed 65 Indian border crossers and eight such Pakisani intruders besides seizing over 321 kg of heroin (including Sunday’s catch), 19 weapons of different types, 32 magazines various weapons, 324 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, four Pakistani mobile phones and six SIMs of Pak telecom companies.
“On July 19, 2020, during the wee hours, vigilant BSF troops deployed along the river Ravi bank observed some suspicious item floating (a bunch of hyacinth) from Pakistan to the Indian side,” a BSF spokesperson said here.
The troops immediately informed the Boat Patrol Party to check the suspicious item. The troops thendragged the suspected bunch of hyacinth towards the bank. Later, when it was searched, troops recovered and seized 60 packets of contraband weighing 64.33 kg tied in four cloth tubes and stashed underneath the bunch of water hyacinth in a way to float the consignment with the flow of water towards the Indian side, the spokesperson said.
A 1,500 metre nylon rope was also found attached with the bunch of the weed to control the floating consignment.
“The vigilant troops of BSF have again thwarted the attempt of anti-national elements to push the consignment of contraband items into Indi,” the spokesperson added.
With security being tightened along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani smugglers have resorted to sending weapons and drugs through the Punjab border for onward transmission to the Jammu region and to the Valley, officials said.
Amid the tightened security grid along the LoC and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani ultras supported by the Pakistani army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have also sought to drop weapons for use by the Islamabad-backed terror groups through drones.
The BSF had last month shot down a Pak spy drone in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
A highly sophisticated rifle, two magazines, 60 rounds and seven grenades comprised the payload on the drone meant to be delivered to Pak-backed terrorists.