Karandeep Singh, the Punjab police constable arrested on October 15 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for colluding with drug traffickers, has allegedly told interrogators that he has collected over two dozen consignments of drugs sent from across the Pakistan border since June this year.
An NCB officer, who asked not to be named, said Karandeep, who was posted with the force’s anti-drone unit mandated to intercept drugs and weapons smuggled across the Indo-Pak fence, used his operational knowledge of anti-drone deployments in Tarn Tarn district to guide smugglers to safe drop zones.
On two occasions, he did pass on tips to the police that led to drug seizures. Karandeep also applied for, and received, an arms licence for a personal weapon, claiming a threat to his life for helping police bust drug-related cases. An NCB officer said this was designed to to preserve his standing within the police force while he facilitated the trafficking operation.
Karandeep was intercepted by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tarn Taran on October 15 while he was smuggling 15 kg of high-grade heroin. The NCB took over the case.
The officer said Karandeep had been taking deliveries of drug consignments sent across the border in June. Since August, he also started helping his handlers with safe drop-zone locations. “Based on his communications with Pakistan handlers and the drop zones he sent them for safe delivery, investigators could confirm at least 24 deliveries,” the officer said. The China-made drones used by traffickers can carry payloads of anywhere between 5-15 kg of heroin.
Karandeep told his interrogators that he had been a heroin addict, a vulnerability that the trafficking networks exploited to turn him.
“Earlier this year, people contacted him via encrypted calls from Pakistan and lured him into smuggling heroin, for which he received his share of drugs and money. He claimed he did not know how the Pak smugglers knew he was a user and lured him. Pakistani smugglers target such vulnerable people, including villagers. He is still being questioned,” a second officer said.
On Tuesday, the local Punjab media reported the arrest of Karandeep’s associate, Lakwinder Singh, a former sarpanch of Rajoke village, a border village, in Tarn Taran. Lakwinder Singh is also in NCB custody.
A BSF officer, who asked not to be named, said the force had had Lakwinder on its radar for a long time. Local BSF units had searched his house several times but found no evidence.
“He had come under the radar because forensic analysis of a few recovered drones showed their flight paths near or above Lakwinder Singh’s house many times. This meant the drugs, which are always tied to the drone using a hook, were dropped at or near his house. But he always feigned ignorance and BSF teams did not recover anything during searches,” the officer said.
Rajoke has been a hotspot of cross-border smuggling in the district.
At least 11 drones have been shot down here since 2023, but the instances have declined since 2025. Only one drone was busted from Rajoke this year, in April. Local BSF officers believed at the time that this route was no longer in use.
“With the Punjab cop’s and the sarpanch’s arrest, it is clear that the cases had not decreased. They had only become smarter,” he added.
Drug enforcement agencies registered 305 drone-related seizure cases across India in 2025, recovering 468 kg of narcotics. Punjab alone accounted for 298 of those cases and 461 kg of seized drugs, primarily heroin.
On September 26, the Punjab police also arrested an inspector posted in the counter-intelligence unit on charges of smuggling 3.35 kg of heroin, 6 pistols and 6 cell phones.
Union home minister Amit Shah reminded security agencies about the challenge posed by drugs. Speaking at a Police Commemoration Day event in New Delhi, Shah said India had won against Naxals, but there were other battles to fight.
“The country has not yet become completely free of problems, and several challenges remain. The home ministry has set a target to free the country from the drug menace by December 31, 2029, through a concerted fight against drugs over the remaining part of 2026 and the next three years—2027, 2028 and 2029. This is a very important goal for the nation.”