New Delhi: A fresh security assessment has pointed to distinct patterns of smuggled adms recovered across Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Rajasthan.
While Punjab remains a prominent hub for multi-pistol consignments linked to organised supply networks, J&K presents a more dispersed picture of individual deliveries and weapons caches. Rajasthan, meanwhile, has emerged as a significant route in cases involving foreign-made firearms allegedly delivered through drones.
This changing pattern is adding to concerns among forces over the availability of foreign pistols, the networks receiving them and their potential links to organised criminal gangs and terror outfits’ overground workers (OGWs), an official said, quoting the assessment, as reported by News18.
“Punjab’s pattern is marked by consignments involving several pistols in a single operation, sometimes alongside assault rifles, magazines and ammunition, unlike isolated dropping along with narcotics that used to happen till previous years,” he said.
Security personnel seized 25 foreign-made pistols, an AK-47 rifle, 47 pistol magazines, more than 360 rounds of ammunition and a bulletproof jacket in a major recovery near the international border in Amritsar district recently.
The consignment was suspected to have been delivered from across the border by drones.
The scale and composition of the seizure point to the importance of examining these cases as potential supply-chain operations rather than treating every recovered pistol as an isolated instance of illegal possession.
Rajasthan presents another important dimension of the emerging pattern which shows old Punjab-like recovery patterns. An operation in the Khajuwala area of Bikaner district in August led to the recovery of 11 foreign-made pistols, 22 magazines, 100 live rounds and approximately 10 kg of heroin.
The police suspected that the consignment had been dropped by a drone from across the border and that the arrested accused had arrived to collect it.
The simultaneous recovery of weapons and narcotics, highlights the possibility that the same delivery networks may be used to move different forms of contraband, the assessment says.
Investigators have also examined potential links between border consignments in Rajasthan and recipients or criminal networks in Punjab.
Jammu and Kashmir presents a different picture, with reported recoveries ranging from individual pistol seizures to weapons caches discovered during security operations, the official said.
Unlike a large consignment recovered at a single border location, dispersed recoveries require investigators to determine whether separate incidents are connected to common suppliers, intermediaries or intended recipients. The incidents suggest that both individual deliveries and concealed stocks form part of the investigative landscape, although comprehensive data would be needed to establish how prevalent either pattern is.
The presence of foreign-made pistols in several of the reported recoveries is another area of concern.
Weapons manufactured in countries, including China, Turkey and Austria, have figured in recent cases in Punjab and Rajasthan. Their recovery raises questions about the sources of these firearms, the routes through which they are being moved and the networks that may be acquiring them.
“The issue is not simply whether a pistol is foreign-made, but whether illicit supply networks are providing criminal groups with reliable, readily usable firearms and sufficient ammunition. Nevertheless, the recurring recovery of foreign-made weapons warrants closer examination of the supply chains involved,” the official said.
Data released by the Border Security Force (BSF) reveals a jump in the movement of sophisticated pistols and revolvers.
The force recovered 64 pistols and revolvers in 2020, 92 in 2021, 66 in 2022, 84 in 2023 and 91 in 2024. The figure jumped to 311 in 2025, while 258 weapons had already been recovered by August 31, 2026.