A suspected Pakistani terrorist was gunned down and a large cache of arms, ammunition and heroin worth over ₹100 crore were seized in two back-to-back joint operations of the DRI and the Army along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir, culminating on Tuesday.
The face-off with alleged terrorists happened about a kilometre away from border fencing in the Indian jurisdiction, in Jammu’s Gigrial village of the Akhnoor sector, around 1 a.m. on Tuesday. The joint team comprising the Army’s 15-Punjab unit personnel spotted the intruders, who on being confronted opened fire. In the retaliatory action, one person was killed and the others fled.
The slain “terrorist” is suspected to be from Pakistan. “We seized one AK-56 rifle, 15 hand grenades, five pistols with distinct Chinese markings along with 60 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 12 detonators of improvised explosive devices and 234 rounds of ammunition, said DRI Director-General Debi Prasad Dash.
The first-of-its-kind operation was conducted on the intelligence developed by the DRI on the routes being used to smuggle in arms, ammunition and drugs. What followed was surveillance mounted by the joint team in the area which is not far from the Line of Control.
The Directorate had already identified the most probable route to be taken for pushing in the consignment. Owing to an increased Army patrolling, the suspects shifted to another route, about 300 metres from the earlier one. Nevertheless, the team managed to intercept them.
Mr. Dash said although the DRI regularly shared inputs with other agencies, it was a rare case of closely coordinated operation with the Army.
About a week ago, again in close cooperation with the Army, the agency seized 20.8 kg of high-quality heroin worth about ₹105 crore, 184 gm of opium and two pistols of foreign make with four magazines, in the Akhnoor region of Jammu.
“The contraband was kept in gunny bags bearing a Lahore address, indicating that it was of Pakistan origin. The operation involved perseverance on the part of DRI sleuths who kept vigil at the border for more than three weeks, with the exceptional support of the Army,” he said.
The DRI chief said the heroin was suspected to have been produced in Pakistan using the poppy produce from Afghanistan, which this year recorded a very high opium cultivation.
