Chandigarh, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab Police has intensified its crackdown on narcotics smuggled across the Pakistan border, resulting in a sharp decline in the availability of street heroin in the state and a corresponding shift towards pharmaceutical drugs as a major challenge in drug law enforcement.
A Punjab Police spokesperson said the multi-layered response involving anti-drone technology, Border Security Force (BSF) coordination, rapid response teams, surveillance and intelligence-led action had significantly disrupted cross-border narcotics smuggling.
Punjab Police is deploying nine anti-drone systems, including three “Baaj Akh” systems operational in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur since August 2025. Three Drone Sense D200 Pro mobile drone detection platforms were deployed at strategic locations in border districts from September 3, with the police saying they have helped detect and pinpoint drone activity and suspected drop locations.
The response mechanism includes 52 Drone Response Teams comprising 147 personnel working with the BSF, supported by 64 second-line defence nakas involving 600 police personnel and 2,367 CCTV cameras installed at 585 locations.
Village Defence Committees in border areas have also been integrated with the Drone Response Teams to strengthen local surveillance.
Under the ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ campaign, nearly 80,000 people have been arrested since March 1, 2025, while 486 drones have been recovered. Financial investigations have resulted in the freezing of properties worth more than Rs 336 crore. During the current year, nearly Rs 2 crore has been disbursed as rewards for anti-drug information, including Rs 25,000 for each drone recovery.
However, police said the decline in cross-border heroin availability has coincided with a change in the drug consumption and smuggling pattern, with pharmaceutical narcotics emerging as a major concern.
According to police analysis, most pharmaceutical drugs seized in Punjab are manufactured outside the state, including in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
Since 2025, Punjab Police has recovered 11.54 lakh pharmaceutical tablets and capsules from consignments linked to other states. Police
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