The Border Security Force (BSF) has been cracking down hard on Pakistan's aerial conspiracy -- its attempts to send drugs and weapons through drones inside India.
Pakistani smugglers have started using old drones assembled in Pakistan instead of new ones made in China to carry out their nefarious plans.
According to sources, this is being done to reduce the economic loss due to the continuous actions taken by the security forces and the expensive Chinese drones.
Most of the drones that come from Pakistan to the Indian territory are made in China including, the hexacopter and quadcopter drones.
The BSF has achieved great success in shooting them down in recent times.
According to a security source, a Pakistani drone was shot down by the BSF personnel in Punjab recently.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the drone was about 18 kg heavy and had been assembled in Pakistan by adding different parts, mostly Chinese.
The equipments fitted in the drone belonged to different companies and it has been sent for forensic examination to gather more information.
A senior official said that Pakistani smugglers have been facing huge economic losses due to the China-made drones being shot down by the forces.
The BSF has installed anti-drone systems on the border.
According to data, a large Hexacopter drone, which does not have the capacity to lift much weight, costs around Rs 14-16 lakhs in Pakistan.
Apart from this, the BSF has been killing the smugglers' hopes by seizing large amounts of drugs and weapons from these drones, causing them financial loss.
The old drones assembled in Pakistan are said to be capable of carrying more cargo.
# 17 drones shot down in 2022, drugs worth crores seized
According to the BSF, the jawans have been achieving great success in shooting Pakistani drones in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Seventeen drones were shot down this year as compared to only one last year.
Official data revealed that the BSF seized 26,469.943 kg of drugs till October 31 this year, which includes 518.272 kg from the Western Front and 25,951.671 kg from the Eastern Front.
In the last one month, the BSF recovered about 45 kg of heroin and many weapons from the international border of Punjab. The cost of heroin has been estimated around Rs 300 crore.
BSF DG Pankaj Kumar Singh said that nowadays big and heavy drones are being used from Pakistan which are easy to shoot down.
# Huge increase in cases of drone intrusion in 2022
Data shows that in 2022, cases of drone infiltration by Pakistan have increased more than double as compared to previous years.
According to the information, 79 drones were seen in 2020, 109 in 2021, which has increased to more than 266 in 2022.
More than 215 cases of drone infiltration have been reported at the Punjab border and about 22 cases have been seen in Jammu so far, the sources said.
# A chip in drone could expose Pakistan
The BSF DG said that information about the drones is being collected through better technology.
Questions like where the drone comes from, when and where is it planned to land are now ascertained by the BSF's technical team through its own system. He said that secretive information is revealed by the chip in the drone.
With the help of which, eight people involved in drug smuggling were caught in Punjab. Six of these had been convicted earlier under the NDPS Act.
Border surveillance work is being carried out by the security force with the help of equipment prepared at low cost and indigenous technology.
# Border monitoring with anti-drone system and 5,500 cameras
BSF has installed anti-drone systems along the India-Pakistan border to prevent drone infiltration. This helps in jamming and shooting the drones. According to the data, Rs 30 crore is being spent by BSF this year to further strengthen the borders, along with 5,500 additional cameras being installed to monitor border infiltration and drone activities.
Singh said that Indian drones are also being used on a large scale to further strengthen day-night patrolling. At the same time, the help of state police is being taken to stop smuggling.
# Drug money used in terrorism, youth becoming victims
According to sources, Pakistan has been using drones to help terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, to supply arms and drugs in large quantities across the border, as well as supplying drugs in large quantities. Drugs dropped through these drones are being sold to the youth and the money received in return is used for terrorist activities.
Pakistan, in this way is not only promoting terrorism with drugs, but is ruining the coming generation, the sources added.