Chandigarh, July 31: The Punjab Police have operationalized specialized anti-drone aerial barriers termed “hawai nakas” to counter illegal drone incursions carrying drugs and weapons from across the Pakistan border. Designed to cover a crucial 210-kilometer border stretch through three anti-drone defense shields, the initiative functions as a reinforced second line of defense operating alongside the Border Security Force (BSF), according to Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav. The term “hawai naka” was created to signal aerial dominance by Indian security personnel over the border belt.
Joint operational data from Punjab Police and the BSF reveals that security forces recovered 474 drones and seized 777.474 kg of heroin along the state border between 2025 and July 27, 2026. Official figures recorded 316 drone events in 2025 that yielded 313 recovered UAVs and 385.119 kg of heroin, whereas the first seven months of 2026 alone accounted for 161 recovered drones alongside 392.355 kg of seized heroin.
Director General Yadav declared that smuggling activities across the 553-kilometer international border—spanning Pathankot, Gurdaspur-Batala, Amritsar Rural, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, and Fazilka—have evolved beyond physical boundary infiltration. He maintained that unmanned aerial vehicles are increasingly utilized to drop payloads for swift local retrieval, necessitating real-time coordination among the BSF, the Indian Army, state police, and central intelligence agencies.
