Drone-dropped arms consignment seized near Jammu border

An arms consignment believed to have been dropped by a drone from Pakistan-based terrorists was seized in Akhnoor sector here in the early hours of Tuesday, a senior police officer said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Jammu) Shridhar Patil said two packets containing two AK assault rifles, three magazines with 90 rounds and a pistol with two magazines and 14 rounds were seized in a joint operation by police and special forces of the Army from Sohal Khad, located at an aerial distance of 13 km from the border.

"We have successfully scuttled the attempt to send weapons to the terrorists active in Jammu and Kashmir... Dropping weapons from drones is a new technique being used by terrorist organizations," he told reporters here.

He said the investigation is on to identify the terrorist group which is behind the dropping of the weapons.

"A case has been registered in connection with the recovery of the weapons and further investigation is on," Patil said.

He said security agencies are aware of the threat posed by the use of drones to drop weapons in India from across the border and "we are tackling it by the use of technology and human intelligence. Human intelligence played a key role in today's recovery".

The arms and ammunition were packed in blue thermacol with wooden fittings, wrapped by adhesive tape, the officer said, adding that two rolls of parachute thread about 300 metre in length was also seized.

The SSP said a joint operation was launched after credible information was received about a planned attempt by anti-national elements to smuggle arms into India.

"The search operation was started at various places in Jammu, including Sohal Khad, Shamshan Ghat, Punnu Chowk, Sohal Market in Akhnoor sector. While recovering a packet containing arms, the sound of a drone was heard but it was not visible due to darkness," he said.

Patil said continuous search led to the recovery of another packet of arms and ammunition.