Jammu police seized a significant heroin consignment, suspected to be dropped by a drone near the International Border, highlighting the increasing use of drones for narcotics smuggling.
Police on Wednesday seized around 3 kilograms of heroin suspected to have been dropped by a drone near the International Border in Jammu district, officials said.
According to police, the consignment was recovered in the Bishnah sector following a week-long surveillance based on specific intelligence inputs about cross-border narcotics smuggling.
Meanwhile, sources said the packet was recovered from the Bahadurhan panchayat in Bishnah after a local spotted the suspicious object while tilling his field with a tractor.
On receiving the information, the Border Security Force and police teams arrived at the spot and cordoned off the area, officials said.
They said police had maintained a round-the-clock vigil in suspected areas and intercepted the consignment before it could reach its intended recipients.
"A major heroin consignment weighing approximately three kilograms was recovered during the operation," an official said.
As per reports, the consignment costs over Rs 15 crore in the international market.
A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory also arrived at the spot for scientific examination of the contraband and collection of evidence, officials said.
Police said the seizure reflects increasing use of drones for smuggling narcotics from across the border and the department's heightened vigilance against narco-terror activities.
A comprehensive investigation has been launched to trace both forward and backward linkages of the Pakistani network involved in the smuggling operation, officials said.