After an initial lull following Operation Sindoor, Pakistani drug smugglers have resumed cross-border drone operations, now utilising more advanced Chinese-made drones to drop heroin, opium, arms, and ammunition deeper into Punjab, India.

The current wave of drone incursions marks a significant escalation in both sophistication and geographic reach, with flights now penetrating 2 to 2.5 kilometers or more inside Indian territory—more than double the previous range, which was typically limited to within one kilometre of the border. This intensification has heightened the risk zone for law enforcement and civilians alike.

Tactics have evolved: drone pilots avoid early detection by flying at high altitudes until past immediate border surveillance and then descend, following a zigzag or erratic pattern to evade both radar and visual tracking. After completing their missions, some drones are intentionally crashed to avoid evidence retrieval linking consignments to handlers.

This resurgence follows a temporary dip during Op Sindoor, when countermeasures and the absence of local Indian operatives to collect the dropped consignments curbed smuggling activity. Operation Sindoor itself had a broader security focus, targeting not just smuggling but also larger threats like drone and missile attacks.

Technological disparities present a critical challenge. While Pakistan-based networks have shifted to upgraded, high-end drones—often Chinese in origin, such as the Mavick series, known for precision and adaptability—India’s anti-drone systems remain under-deployed, relying heavily on manual detection by sound or sight. Real-time tracking and neutralising technology (“interceptors”) are not yet widespread along the 532-km border, reducing the efficacy of Indian countermeasures, though additional anti-drone systems are scheduled for deployment.

The impact is measurable: from January to June 2025 alone, the Border Security Force (BSF) has recovered over 130 drones, nearly matching all of 2024, which itself saw a threefold increase from 2023.

In the same six-month period, 135 kg of narcotics—including heroin—and 79 weapons were seized, predominantly in sensitive belts like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Ferozepur. Drones most commonly carry packets of 450–550 grams, typically wrapped in yellow adhesive tape for quick identification by Indian receivers.

The upsurge in aerial drops—now occurring almost weekly—has forced smugglers to meet their Indian contacts farther from the border, shifting the challenge for security forces inland. Despite increased BSF patrols and some success in intercepting both drones and operatives, including recent arrests in Ferozepur, authorities stress that the threat remains ongoing.

The persistence of these activities highlights the continual adaptation of smuggling networks and underscores the urgent need for more robust, technological countermeasures and intelligence-driven policing to contain this evolving security risk.

Agencies