Terror Outfits Use Dead-Drop Tactics to Evade Detection, Channel Funds and Weapons Into India

Terrorist organisations operating against India are increasingly using covert dead-drop techniques to transfer funds, weapons and operational instructions while avoiding direct contact between handlers and local operatives, according to intelligence officials.

Groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the proscribed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) have reportedly adopted non-contact logistics to conceal the identities of handlers based in Pakistan and make it harder for security agencies to trace their networks.

Intelligence officials said terrorism has evolved significantly, posing new challenges for security agencies. While groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda have increasingly relied on different radicalisation models and lone actors to carry out attacks, outfits targeting India continue to operate conventional networks alongside newer covert methods.

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official said the primary objective of dead-drop techniques was to evade detection and disrupt the trail connecting handlers with operatives on the ground.

“Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Babbar Khalsa International have increasingly used dead-drop methods in recent times. These methods are being used to channelise funds and weapons and to facilitate covert operations in India,” the official said.

According to officials, terror groups are moving away from physical handovers, which can expose links between individuals involved in the movement of consignments and make it easier for security agencies to trace connections to handlers in Pakistan.

Apart from drone-based deliveries, weapons and ammunition are reportedly being left at isolated locations, including rural areas, for subsequent collection. Officials said consignments often pass through multiple intermediaries, who may have little or no knowledge of the original suppliers or eventual recipients.

This separation, they said, makes it difficult for investigators to establish the complete chain of those involved, even when an individual transporting or collecting a consignment is apprehended.

Intelligence officials said dead-drop techniques were also being used to coordinate operations and communicate instructions among operatives without direct contact. Such methods can make it harder for security agencies to identify the individuals involved in planning and executing an operation.

The proscribed SFJ, headed by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has also reportedly adopted the technique, according to an official. Pannun allegedly uses covert communication methods to direct operatives in Punjab to carry out acts of vandalism.

Officials cited the recent arrest of Preetpal Singh and his associates in connection with the spray-painting of anti-BRICS and pro-Khalistan slogans in Delhi and Punjab. The investigation reportedly found that instructions and payments linked to the activity were conveyed through dead-drop methods.

Singh was allegedly paid Rs 1.5 lakh, with the money left at a location along the Amritsar-Faridkot highway, officials said.

Security agencies are also concerned about the growing use of dead-drop methods in narco-terrorism. Officials said the direct handover of narcotics was increasingly being replaced by covert arrangements, with drones being used extensively to drop drug consignments into India.

In such cases, the person assigned to collect a consignment may be directed to leave it at a predetermined location, such as a field, an isolated stretch of highway or a remote rural area. The person delivering the drugs may not know who will eventually retrieve them.

Officials said the use of multiple intermediaries and isolated drop-off points created layers of separation that complicated efforts to trace the supply chain and identify those coordinating the operations.

The growing reliance on these techniques has emerged as a significant challenge for Indian security agencies, as handlers and local operatives rarely meet in person, making it difficult to establish direct links between them.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing several such cases, has reportedly been using advanced forensic tools to examine digital evidence beyond conventional email checks. These methods include the recovery of unsent or deleted drafts, raw disk data and temporary cloud links.

The NIA is also working closely with state agencies to prevent local operatives from retrieving consignments left at designated locations, officials said.

An official said terror groups were likely to continue using dead-drop methods and could expand their use in the future. While Indian agencies have managed to solve several cases involving such techniques, the approach continues to pose a major investigative challenge.