Pakistani drone drops over 5 kg heroin along international border in Jammu

Security forces on Monday intercepted a major narcotics drop after a Pakistani drone deposited two bags containing about 5.3 kg of heroin near the International Border in the R S Pura sector of Jammu. The consignment, recovered from farmland near Bidipur village during a joint Border Security Force and Jammu Police search, is estimated to be worth around Rs 25 crore on the international market. Heroin is a highly addictive opioid derived from morphine and is banned under the NDPS Act.

Troops on duty at Border Outpost Jatinder detected the drone hovering over the Indian side at about 6.00 am and launched an immediate sweep of nearby fields. Search teams found two yellow outer packets containing ten smaller wrapped packets, with the gross weight reported at approximately 5.300 kg. The BSF said the recovery followed specific intelligence inputs and quick action by alert personnel, and handed the recovered material to the local police for forensic examination and further probe.

A formal FIR has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and investigators will seek forensic confirmation of the drug and its purity to establish whether the haul meets the statutory threshold for a commercial quantity. Police teams will also process the packets for fingerprints and trace any local handlers or recipients through mobile data, CCTV and eyewitness accounts. Given the transborder nature of the case, central agencies may be roped in depending on leads.

The seizure fits a growing pattern of drone based narcotics drops along the India Pakistan frontier. Security agencies recorded several drone linked recoveries in 2025 across Jammu, Samba and parts of Punjab and Rajasthan, with smaller consignments seized in July and August and other incidents through the year. Officials and investigators say smugglers are increasingly using drones to lower detection risk by flying at low altitude and making quick drops into farmland or forward villages.

In response to the trend, the BSF and state police have stepped up night patrols and intelligence driven sweeps, widened deployment of optical and thermal sensors, increased use of radar and counter drone equipment, and intensified coordination with local informers to shorten response times after a drop is spotted. Commanders say these measures have improved recoveries but caution that smugglers keep adapting with smaller, harder to detect drones and remote handlers.

As of October 27 there was no verifiable official response from the Government of Pakistan, its foreign ministry or the military spokesman to this specific R S Pura incident. Pakistani media carried Indian reports, but no denial or acknowledgement from Islamabad could be found in official channels at the time of filing. Indian investigators say cross border leads will be pursued if forensic or intelligence links point outside India.

Investigators will now focus on technical and human leads: searching for any drone parts or telemetry, matching chemical profiling of the recovered heroin with earlier consignments, screening nearby CCTV and mobile footage, and following payment and communication trails to identify intermediary handlers and local buyers. The seizure underscores the challenge posed by the evolving use of commercial drones in organised smuggling and the need for sustained surveillance and cross agency coordination along vulnerable stretches of the frontier.