Law enforcement agents, on the condition of anonymity, explained how trading of drugs goes on across the 550-kilometre-long international border that India shares with Pakistan. In the late eighties, the area was known for arms and gold smuggling. However, now the traffickers focus on smuggling heroin and other psychotropic drugs. The problem is more pronounced in the border districts of Punjab namely Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Gurdaspur. These are some of the most affected districts in the state.
The Indo-Punjab border is an interesting tale in itself. The Indian side of the border is fenced. The fence exists a few kilometres from India’s international border. There are farms beyond the fenced border that belong to Indian farmers. Hence, the BSF allows farmers to enter these restricted areas on the other side of the border in the morning. The farmers return in the evening after doing their chores. These farmers and all those who cross the fenced part of the Indian border are exposed and susceptible to drug dealers on the Pakistani side of the border. The Pakistani side of the border is not fenced and hence, open to drug dealers, who often connive with Pakistani intelligence agencies and use Indian farmers as carriers. These dealers use counterfeit currency as a bait.
A law enforcement officer formerly engaged with the Punjab border police, on the condition of anonymity, said the problem is more pronounced during winters when the visibility is reduced to as low as one feet. It is during this time that border mafias tie up with Indian smugglers to establish a link and miss the sight of BSF soldiers posted at the border. Smugglers are known to build tunnels to facilitate entry at the other end of the border. The officer agreed that it is difficult to man every junction along the 550-kilometre-long border.
During the monsoon season, smugglers adopt a riverine route to trade drugs. The fast flowing current of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers allow them to tie drug packets beneath ships that go unnoticed by the authorities. The Samjhauta Express is also used to ferry drugs across the border. Officers privy to drug control operations said that it is a cat and mouse chase that continues between smugglers and law enforcement agencies.
The main operators of the narcotics ring are located in the UAE and Dubai. The people, who operate here, are only carriers or facilitators mainly from the border districts of Punjab. Law enforcement authorities like the Border Security Force (BSF) have taken several steps to stop such cross-border activities. The entire stretch of India’s border is guarded with barbed wire. There are floodlights and thermal imaging devices to catch smugglers at night. There is round the clock BSF vigil present at every kilometre along the border.
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