A drone along with three kg heroin were recovered near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, a top officer of the state police said on Sunday.
The recovery was made in a joint operation of the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force.
"Carrying on the special drive against trans-border smuggling networks, Tarn Taran Police and BSF, in a joint operation have recovered a quadcopter drone with 3 kg heroin during a search in an area of PS Valtoha, Tarn Taran," said Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav in a tweet.
This comes a day after the Border Security Force recovered about 25 kg of heroin, which was airdropped by a Pakistani drone in the Fazilka district.
On the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, a drone was found from a field near the India-Pakistan border in the Tarn Taran district along with over 5 kg of heroin, police had said. On Monday, two Pakistani drones, carrying around 10 kg of heroin, were gunned down by the BSF along the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.
On Wednesday, a broken quadcopter drone was recovered from the area of village Van Tara Singh in Khalra in Tarn Taran.
Addressing an event of the BSF in Amritsar, Punjab on Sunday, Union minister Nityanand Rai said, "he Border Security Force (BSF) has been effectively thwarting the growing challenges of infiltration, drugs and arms smuggling and the menace of drones from across the border."
He was speaking while officiating as the chief guest of the 58th Raising Day parade of the force, the country's largest border guarding force with 2.65 lakh personnel, held in the campus of the Guru Nanak Dev University here, roughly 30 km from the India-Pakistan International Border that runs along Punjab, reported PTI.
The Union minister of state for home affairs also said that women personnel are increasingly being engaged in various duties being rendered by the force, which is reflective of the women empowerment vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The increasing challenges of infiltration, smuggling of narcotics and arms and the activity of drones are being effectively dealt with by the BSF and it has been continuously thwarting these attempts along our border, Rai said.
The minister did not specify the front but it is understood that he was referring to the India-Pakistan border running along this state.
The India-Pakistan International Border runs from Jammu in the north to Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on the western flank of the country.
"Your (BSF) presence along the borders ensures that there is peace in the country and you have kept the front safe for the last 57 years," he said.
The minister said the BSF was being provided smart surveillance gadgets like radars and anti-drone guns.