E-Paper
Tarn Taran: Drone, 3kg heroin, ₹30 lakh drug money seized; 3 held
Pakistan smugglers resorting to airdropping drugs during daytime posing a fresh challenge for security forces, say police
Police on Wednesday arrested three persons with the recovery of a drone, ₹30 lakh drug money, 3kg of heroin and a pistol in two separate incidents in Tarn Taran.
In the first incident, police shared a video showing a Pakistani drone airdropping a packet of heroin at Naushehra Dhala village situated along the India-Pakistan in Tarn Taran. The police said smugglers from across the border are now resorting to delivering drugs during daytime, posing a fresh challenge for the security forces.
It is for the first time that any video of dropping a packet of drugs by Pakistani smugglers into Indian territory has surfaced.
The drone, DJI Mavic 3 Classic, which was being operated from Pakistan, was recovered from one Jugraj Singh, alias Jagga, of Bhagupur Utar village in Amritsar after it fell on ground at Naushehra Dhala village situated along the India-Pakistan border while dropping a consignment of heroin in the afternoon. Police have also recovered 2kg of heroin from Jugraj which was dropped by the same drone before it became defunct.
Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said: “The drone was being used during the day for smuggling small packets of drugs.”
In the video, a packet of heroin could be seen airdropped from the drone and it appeared to be captured by the camera fitted on the unmanned aerial vehicle.
Police said since it is a small drone and it can fly high, it is difficult to hear its sound during daytime as compared to night.
The SSP said: “Before this, we had been noticing the use of drones for dropping drugs during the night. Airdropping of drugs during the daytime is a dangerous trend. This drone can carry 500gm weight at one time and can easily make five to six sorties in a small time. During the night, the sound of drones can be heard easily, but it is difficult to notice it during the daytime. This drone can fly high and cannot be seen while delivering the consignment.”
The SSP said they will discuss the challenge of daytime smuggling using small drones with the authorities concerned.
Chauhan said Jugraj was arrested following a tip-off. “During questioning, Jugraj disclosed that the drone fell on the ground while delivering the heroin consignments and he was instructed by his Pakistan-based and an Indian handler to pick the drone till further instructions.”
The SSP said the drone will be sent for forensic examination to ascertain its flight time.
In another incident, Tarn Taran police arrested two men identified as Lovepreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh of Manakpure village in Tarn Taran. The SSP said the duo accused were arrested when they were on their way in a Verna Hyundai car after collecting a consignment of 1.290 kg of heroin and ₹30 lakh drug money and a .32 bore pistol. The SSP said the heroin is appeared to have smuggled using drone from Pakistan.
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DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone
Police said the made in China DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone used to drop heroin consignment at Naushehra Dhala village along the Pakistan border in Tarn Taran on Wednesday has 46 minutes of maximum flight time and 40 minutes of hovering time. It has 15km HD video transmission capability. The drone is mostly used for spying and aerial imaging.
