CHANDIGARH, Apr 12 (Agencies): The Border Security Force (BSF) has seized 331 kg of heroin along the Punjab border with Pakistan in the first quarter of the year, reflecting a substantial rise compared to 414 kg of heroin seized in 2025 and 283 kg in 2024.Fortyseven drones have also been recovered, a count that stood at 272 last year. A security official said this suggested how smugglers were relying heavily on unmanned vehicles to push drugs across the border.
Apart from heroin, the seizure of synthetic drugs has also gone up, with 5.5 kg of ICE and 10.50 kg of opium recovered in multiple operations during the period. “The recovery of 331 kg of heroin in roughly 100 days suggests smuggling attempts remain intense, even as detection capabilities have also improved,” said the official.
The recovery of arms and ammunition has also gone up. The BSF has seized 58 weapons, 654 rounds of ammunition and 93 magazines, along with a grenade, suggesting sustained attempts to fuel illegal activities and set up terror modules. It had recovered 201 weapons in 2025, which was a massive jump from 36 in 2024.
On the enforcement side, 110 Indian smugglers have been arrested this year along with 34 suspects. The number of caught Pakistani intruders stands at five, while an Egyptian national was also apprehended. In a separate development, three Pakistani intruders were killed during border operations this year, said the official.
A senior official from the Punjab Police’s counter-intelligence wing pointed out that there had been a sustained campaign linked to narco-terror elements aiming to destabilise the region through drug proliferation and arms inflow.
A senior BSF official pointed out that these seizures also reflected the heightened alertness and synergy among agencies in safeguarding the border. He said the BSF was working in close coordination with the Punjab Police and other sister agencies. It had ramped up intelligence-driven operations, anti-drone measures and rapid response tactics, he said.
Officials pointed to how evolving tactics such as GPS-programmed precision drops, night-time operations and low-altitude flights made traditional detection methods less effective.
Security agencies have called for a shift towards intelligence-driven interdiction strategies, coupled with enhanced technological deployment, to effectively counter sophisticated smuggling networks and curb cross-border criminal activities.
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