The New Indian Express ·
Pharma drugs from other states emerge as new challenge for Punjab police
CHANDIGARH: The pattern of drug smuggling in Punjab is changing as the availability of 'street heroin' has declined sharply, while pharmaceutical drugs are increasingly being smuggled into the state from other states. This has emerged as a new challenge for Punjab Police, with a substantial quantity of “pharmaceutical narcotics” entering Punjab.
According to Punjab police data analysed from pharmaceutical seizures, most of these drugs are manufactured outside Punjab, in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, said a Punjab police spokesperson.
Since 2025, 11.54 lakh pharmaceutical tablets or capsules have been recovered from consignments linked to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. A state police official said around 80 per cent of pharmaceutical drugs available in Punjab are estimated to come from these states. This reverses the earlier trend, when majority of drugs smuggled into the state were believed to come across the international border with Pakistan.
The spokesman said the emerging pattern of pharmaceutical drug abuse highlights the need for inter-state coordination. He said continued coordinated action was needed with source and transit states against manufacturers, distributors and organised pharmaceutical drug networks. Punjab police would take up the matter with the concerned states for better regulation of manufacturing units and continuous monitoring of the sale, purchase and transportation of pharmaceutical drugs to prevent their diversion into the state.
Meanwhile, the multi-layered response by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab police to drone-based narcotic smuggling across the international border with Pakistan has led to a sharp decline in the availability of street heroin in Punjab.
On September 3 this year, three units of Drone Sense D200 Pro, a long-endurance mobile drone detection platform, were deployed at strategic locations in border districts. The system detects and pinpoints drone-related activity and actual dropping locations, enabling timely ground intervention.
For immediate ground action, 52 Drone Response Teams (DRT), comprising 147 police personnel, work closely with the BSF. They respond to drone alerts, reach suspected drop locations, conduct searches and intercept people collecting dropped consignments. This response is supported by 64 second-line defence nakas with 600 police personnel and 2,367 CCTV cameras at 585 locations.
The Punjab police has also deployed nine Anti-Drone Systems. Three "Baaj Akh" systems have been operational in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur since August last year, providing early detection and jamming of drones. So far, 486 drones have been recovered.
Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in border areas have been integrated with the DRTs and serve as the police's "eyes and ears". The "Yudh Nashiyan Virudh" (YNV) campaign has resulted in the arrest of nearly 80,000 persons since March 1, 2025.
Financial investigations are being used to disrupt the economic base of drug networks, with property worth over Rs. 336 crores frozen. The anti-drug information reward policy provides a cash reward of Rs. 25,000 for every drone recovery. Nearly Rs 2 crores have been disbursed under the policy during the current year.
The spokesman said the state police's multi-layered response, based on anti-drone technology, rapid response teams, coordination with the BSF, community vigilance, CCTV surveillance, depth nakas, intelligence-led arrests, financial disruption, rehabilitation and prevention, has led to a sharp fall in the availability of drugs smuggled into Punjab from across the international border.