CISF reveals major drug, arms seizures
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has detected 63 drug-related cases between 2021 and 2026, seized 39 illegal arms and 1,286 rounds of ammunition over the past four years, and intercepted gold, silver, and undeclared cash worth crores of rupees.
The figures have been revealed in a detailed account of the CISF’s 26-year journey in aviation security, which now covers 72 civil airports across the country after starting at a single airport in Jaipur in February 2000.
The figures, drawn from CISF’s own record of its operational achievements, illustrate a scale of attempted smuggling that ordinary air travellers rarely encounter directly but that security personnel deal with routinely at the screening counter.
The drugs seized over the period included Tramadol, Methaqualone, Cannabis, Charas, Heroin, Brown Sugar, Marijuana, and Hashish, with traffickers using methods that have grown more sophisticated over time, including concealment in false compartments, electronic items, toys, footwear, liquid masking techniques, and on the body itself.
On financial smuggling, working alongside Customs, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, and the Income Tax Department, CISF contributed to detecting approximately 31.46 kg of gold, 114.13 kg of silver, and cash amounting to `52.91 crore during 2025 alone.
In 2026, up to May, the corresponding figures stood at 12.779 kg of gold, 23.825 kg of silver, and `14.49 crore in cash, suggesting the pace of detection this year is broadly consistent with, if not ahead of, last year’s full-year total.
The force’s aviation security mandate traces back to a specific moment of crisis. The hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 in December 1999 triggered a comprehensive review of airport security, which until then had been handled by state police units.
