Drone drops, encrypted apps and heroin: Inside the Pakistan-backed smuggling network targeting Indian states

Agency says Pakistan-backed operatives used drones, encrypted apps, and couriers to move weapons and heroin across northern India.

A new chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has laid out what investigators describe as a well-coordinated arms and narcotics pipeline running across northern India, one that allegedly relied on drone drops, encrypted apps, and cross-border handlers based in Pakistan.

Submitted before the NIA Special Court in Jaipur, the document identifies Rajasthan resident Vishal Pachar as the “principal accused” in the case, according to The Indian Express. He has been booked under the UAPA, Arms Act, NDPS Act, and multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Who is Pachar and what investigators allege

Per the investigation cited by The Indian Express, Pachar is accused of coordinating the procurement, movement, and distribution of weapons, ammunition, and narcotics across Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, forming what officials describe as the connective tissue of a larger smuggling syndicate.

NIA’s probe suggests he received 'direct support' from Pakistan-based contacts, who allegedly arranged for consignments to be air-dropped along border zones using high-powered drones. Indian side operatives would retrieve the packages and route them to different states.

This method, investigators say, is now a preferred tactic for cross-border arms-and-drug networks that want to bypass checkpoints and traditional surveillance.

Drone drops, foreign-made weapons, and encrypted channels

NIA’s press note states that the group actively sourced illegal foreign-made firearms to bolster its own arsenal and brace for possible encounters with law enforcement. To protect its communication trail, the network relied on encrypted platforms, covert messaging tools, and human couriers, tightening operational secrecy and complicating digital forensics.

Investigators cited by The Indian Express argue that the combination of drones, encrypted communication, and foreign weapons shows how cross-border groups have adapted to India’s heightened patrols along sensitive areas.

A dual-purpose network: arms to empower, drugs to finance

One of the more alarming insights in the chargesheet is the alleged symbiosis between arms suppliers and narcotics traffickers.

According to NIA findings, the syndicate intentionally targeted vulnerable youth to expand drug dependency, a move that not only widened the consumer base but also acted as a stable revenue source.

The flow of weapons and heroin, the agency says, played a dual role:

– funding the gang’s operations, and

– enabling anti-state elements to operate more freely.

Officials told The Indian Express this indicates a strategy aimed at creating broader instability in border-adjacent states.

A case bigger than the first arrests

The NIA took over the investigation from the Rajasthan Police earlier this year, and the chargesheet signals only the first layer of what agencies believe is a wider network.

Officials quoted in The Indian Express said the probe is ongoing, with investigators now working to trace:

– additional facilitators,

– the supply routes inside Pakistan,

– the handlers coordinating drone drops,

– and the local conduits who distributed weapons and narcotics.

What stands out from the chargesheet is not just the smuggling itself, but how technology, location, and logistics were blended into a smooth cross-border operation, one that moved with surprising speed and minimal visibility.