Coronavirus can't lock down smuggling at borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh

Along the Punjab border, notorious for cross-border heroin smuggling from Pakistan, drug seizures came down from 97 kgs to about 18 kgs between the two comparable periods

The nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 may have brought many businesses to a grinding halt, but smuggling of drugs and fake Indian currency notes across the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders is continuing unabated, albeit in much lesser numbers, latest data has revealed.

According to the seizure and apprehension data (between January 1- March 24 and from March 25-April 12), the two borders, guarded by the Border Security Force, saw a number of such instances prompting the force to tighten vigil.

The first phase of the lockdown, aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus, was enforced from March