Hexacopter hi-tech drone loaded with 5 kg heroin shot down in Amritsar
Jan 22, 2023
Chandigarh/Amritsar (Punjab) [India], January 22 : Punjab Police in a joint operation with Border Security Force (BSF) shot down a sophisticated hexacopter drone loaded with 5 kg heroin during a search operation launched at the area of Border Outpost (BOP) Kakkar on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, informed officials.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that this is the sixth drone recovered in less than two months.
He said that this hybrid six-winged drone, worth Rs 10 lakhs, is assembled with parts manufactured in USA and China, and was equipped with hi-tech features including long-lasting battery backup and infrared-based night vision camera and GPS system.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that after noticing the drone movement in the India-Pakistan border on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, Police teams from Amritsar Rural district immediately shared the pin-pointed inputs with the BSF and jointly conducted an intensive search operation in the area of Village Kakkar, which is just 2 kms away from the India-Pakistan border.
He said that the Police teams had fired at least 12 burst fires from AK-47 to shoot down the drone.
Sharing more details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said, "The Police have rounded-up two persons from the spot when they were trying to escape. Investigations are on to ascertain the identity of the Pakistan smugglers, who sent the consignment via drone, and also their Indian associates, who were to receive this air-dropped consignment of heroin."
Meanwhile, a case has been registered under sections 21, 23 and 28 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Police Station Lopoke in Amritsar Rural.
Earlier on November 29 last year, a hexacopter drone carrying six packets of heroin, weighing 6.68 kg, was recovered in the jurisdiction of Border Outpost (BOP) Harbhajan in Khemkaran, Tarn Taran.
On November 30, 2022, a broken quadcopter drone was recovered from the area of village Van Tara Singh in Khalra, Tarn Taran and on December 2, 2022, a hexacopter drone carrying five packets of heroin, weighing 5.60 kg, was recovered from the Khemkaran area in Tarn Taran.
On December 4, 2022, a quadcopter drone loaded with three packets of heroin, weighing 3.06Kg, was recovered from the area of Border Outpost (BOP) Kalia in Tarn Taran and on December 25, 2022, a DJI series USA made Hi-tech drone, worth Rs 20 lakhs, recovered along with 10 kg heroin by the Amritsar Rural Police.
