Lahore, Pakistan’s most active drone launch site, dispatched 184 UAVs to India, according to the BSF.

Lahore to Amritsar, Narowal to Firozpur, and Bahawalnagar to Sri Ganganagar – over the past three years, these have been the three main routes that saw the highest number of drones transporting drugs and weapons to border regions in India from Pakistan. This is what the Border Security Force (BSF) has discovered after examining the flight routes of approximately 500 drones at its drone forensic facilities in Delhi and Punjab.

The forensic analysis of these unmanned aerial vehicles has shown that 184 drones – the greatest count – came from Lahore and arrived in the Amritsar border region. Forty-two drones started their flight from the Narowal border and arrived in the Firozpur border area. Fourteen drones from Narowal made their way to the Gurdaspur border region.

“Apart from Punjab, six different drones originated from Bahawalnagar and made trips to Sri Ganganagar border area in Rajasthan. Two drones travelled from Toba Tek Singh to Bikaner border area,” a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official said.

The unmanned aerial vehicles underwent analysis at two advanced drone forensics labs located in Delhi and Amritsar. The facility in Delhi was established in 2022, whereas the one in Amritsar opened on May 27 of the previous year. The aim of the two labs is to assist the BSF in comprehending the flight behavior of drones and implement corrective actions as needed.

According to information from the MHA official, the forensic lab in Delhi received 307 drones between March 2022 and January 2025. Among these, the BSF contributed 284 drones, the Punjab Police provided 20, Delhi Police had two, and the Manipur Police contributed one. “The official stated that 28 drones were sent for assessment in 2022, 115 in 2023, 155 the previous year, and nine to date this year.”

Information from the forensic lab in Amritsar indicates that it analyzed 194 drones. “Out of the 194, 190 were dispatched by the BSF, three by Punjab Police, and one by the Army,” the officials remarked. A source indicated that these drones, primarily inexpensive Chinese models, transport drugs, weapons, ammunition, and counterfeit currency from Pakistan into India. The drones were primarily intercepted through technical means in the districts of Abohar, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot in Punjab, with the highest recoveries noted in Tarn Taran and Amritsar.

“We have found their flight paths, launching and landing points, timings, GPS coordinates and even messages they have exchanged. We are increasing anti-drone guns in the border areas,” the source added.

A BSF spokesperson said that several preventive measures have been taken to reduce the vulnerability on the Indo-Pakistan international border. “Anti-drone systems are employed to counter illicit drones, new Design Fence (NDF) is proposed for border security, gaps are being covered by installing of command and control centres and surveillance grid,” he said.