Drug war can be won only by stopping drones: Cops
As the Punjab Governor continues his ambitious padyatra against drugs, officials openly acknowledge that the “war against drugs” is bound to fizzle out till the security forces are equipped with appropriate technical expertise to stop the heroin-carrying drones flying in from Pakistan.
Sources in the police and BSF reveal that for every drone that is brought down, five to 10 dropped packets of the white powder at pre-designated spots completely go undetected and unnoticed.
The latest modus operandi of Pakistan is to send small drones that can fly sub-radar at high altitudes with low speed and sound, making these difficult to detect or intercept.
Chinese drones such as DJI Matrice 300 RTK, DJI Matrix 350 RTK, or DJI Mavic are the most-used ones.
The packets are picked up from border villages by “carriers” who hand these over to their accomplices, who often have their faces covered, carry no mobiles and mostly travel alone. Cops frequently catch “carriers”, but their investigation leads them nowhere as the “carrier” and his accomplice are not known to each other.
The security forces are losing sight of the larger picture by putting emphasis on events like walkathons, seminars, skits, painting competitions, quiz contests and sports tournaments.
Police officials claim that till the flights of drones are halted, the “war against drugs” will be incomplete and ineffective.
The security forces have yet to get possession of any effective anti-drone device which can reduce the number of drones. Sources say the Defence Research Development Organisation and some private players are in the process of developing an effective anti-drone system, but “the process is cumbersome and time-consuming”.
Indian agencies are working hard to neutralise the threat. An anti-drone mechanism with the capacity to jam a Pakistani drone’s signal has been developed. This mechanism is called “spoofing”, but is not that successful.
Smugglers are now using inexpensive drones that carry smaller quantities of heroin per sortie, thus minimising the loss in case the drone is detected. To compensate for the reduced payload, smugglers often increase the number of sorties. Officials say the rugged terrain along the international border presents a big challenge to traditional surveillance methods.
DIG (Border) Satinder Singh said the Punjab Government is in the final stages of developing an advanced anti-drone system. Trials were held recently in Naushehra Dhalla village in Tarn Taran district and these turned out to be a success. In the trials, companies had demonstrated the working of an integrated counter-drone system that detects the direction and radio frequency of the drone, followed by signal jamming to immobilise it.
Recently, Governor Gulab Chand Katraia said the Centre had sanctioned 22 new anti-drone systems to be installed along the India-Pakistan International Border in Punjab to stop the smuggling of weapons and drugs from across the wire fencing.
Punjab