There has been a dramatic increase in the drone-driven drugs drops along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, with the number of seizures skyrocketing from just three cases in 2021 to 179 in 2024, according to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) annual report released on Tuesday (September 16, 2025).
“The use of drones for cross-border smuggling of narcotics has emerged as a significant threat to India’s internal security, particularly along the Indo-Pak border in Punjab...there has been a sharp increase in drone sightings and recoveries of narcotics in border districts such as Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozpur, and Gurdaspur. In 2024, the number of such seizures rose manifolds reaching 179 cases as compared to 3 cases in 2021. The recovered consignments often include heroin, opium, etc.,” said the report.
The report said the drug law enforcement agencies instituted 96,930 cases across India and arrested more than 1.22 lakh people, including 660 foreign nationals from more than 36 countries, last year. Among those held were 203 from Nepal and 106 from Nigeria.
The agencies confiscated about 13,306 quintals of narcotic substances. Cannabis, in various forms, accounted for about 41% of total seizures (5,40,810 kg) and opiates, including heroin, about 39%. In 2023, they had registered over 1.09 lakh cases and arrested 1,32,954 individuals.
