CHANDIGARH: Pakistan-based handlers and smugglers have started using satellite-enabled drones that use advanced navigation systems to drop consignments of drugs, arms and ammunition at pre-designated locations in Punjab.
Punjab Police and central security agencies are now faced with the challenge of controlling the unprecedented surge in drone-dropped consignments originating from Pakistan.
Meanwhile, satellite-based internet services by cross-border handlers remain a formidable hurdle.
Sources further said that the shift to satellite-enabled drones reflects the evolving nexus between Pakistan-based smugglers and terror outfits that comes after intensified action against conventional cross-border smuggling routes.
The use of these advanced drones has enabled handlers to attempt deeper incursions into Indian Territory while reducing the risk of interception.
It is learnt that these high-capacity drones are very hard to track and can make four to five sorties each night or during the daytime, as they use satellite communication links that cannot be traced by the anti-drone systems.
"This has emerged as a major concern for both the Border Security Force and Punjab Police,’’ said a senior official.
Sources added that the conventional drones usually depend on radio signals and GPS, paving the way for the anti-drone-systems detection, tracking, and disruption.
Satellite-linked drones communicate through satellite networks, allowing operators to control them over much longer distances and maintain connectivity even in remote areas where there is no mobile coverage.
This technology enables real-time navigation and monitoring through live video and real-time commands, escaping traditional anti-drone systems.
Once the satellite-enabled drones drop the payload, the local operatives linked to smuggling and terror networks are tasked to retrieve the consignments using encrypted messaging applications and precise coordinates.
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) said that satellite communication devices, including equipment using Starlink-based services, were recovered during recent anti-narcotics and anti-terror operations, indicating that trans-border smugglers are now adopting advanced technology to evade surveillance and interception by conventional anti-drone systems.
"There is a thriving drone industry in Pakistan as one can earn between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per kg of load to drop consignment from across the border,’’ said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
There is no accurate data on the recovery of satellite drones with the Punjab Police, but sources say that the intelligence wing and the Border Security Force have time and again raising the issue with higher officials.
On May 24, counter-intelligence of the State police dismantled a drug smuggling network in Ferozepur district, and four accused were arrested, and police recovered a satellite-enabled communication drone, along with 28.12 kg heroin and Rs 9.5 lakh in suspected drug proceeds.
In response, central security agencies are rapidly recalibrating their interception strategies to counter highly resilient digital threats ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Between March 1 last year and June 11 this year, around 403 drones of various ranges and capabilities have been seized.
There has been a steady rise in drone intrusions with security forces recovering hundreds of such devices and multiple consignments of heroin, assault rifles, pistols, explosives and ammunition dropped from across the border.
Intelligence agency officials believe the proceeds from the drug trade continue to finance terror activities and support the logistics of Pakistan-backed terror modules operating in the region.
Last year, drone-based seizures accounted for 468 kg of narcotics across 305 distinct incidents, marking a fifty-fold increase in volume compared to 2021, when just 10 kg of narcotics were seized across three incidents.
In 2022,148 kg in 35 instances, in 2023, 103 kg across 28 incidents, and in 2024, 236 kg of narcotics across 179 incidents were seized.
This year, by the first week of June alone, Punjab Police had already seized 516 kg of heroin, surpassing the entire total of the previous year. Besides, 122 firearms, including a grenade, 909 rounds of ammunition and 139 drones were seized.
Punjab accounts for approximately 58 per cent of all heroin smuggled into the country.
Meanwhile, sources said that as per the analysis, presently the smugglers based from across the border use highly advanced, custom-built quadcopters capable of carrying payloads between 5 kg and 10 kg.
These machines are programmed to automatically wipe their internal GPS and flight data logs upon landing or interception, systematically blinding investigators to their precise geographic points of origin. They also operate at significantly higher altitudes with minimal acoustic signatures, making visual and auditory detection exceptionally difficult.
Earlier, smugglers relied on commercial Chinese-origin agricultural drones originally used for pesticide spraying in the Punjab province of Pakistan to drop drug pay loads into India.
