Chandigarh, Jul 22 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has, in a letter to Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Surjeet Singh Deswal, expressed his appreciation over the seizure of Rs 300 crore drugs by the 10th Battalion along the international border.

All members of the team involved in the seizure of 60 kg heroin should be rewarded, the Chief Minister recommended. "But for the alertness of the jawans and the prompt action thereafter, drugs would have entered India and severely impacted the lives of many," he said.

The exemplary action of the 14-member BSF party, involved in the operation to save the nation's youth from the clutches of drugs, deserved to be commended, Singh said.

He said the gap at GIN-61 is tough, particularly during the night, as it was riverine and unfenced, but the BSF personnel not only displayed exceptional alertness but also risked their lives while battling the strong current in the Ravi river in the Gurdaspur sector.

On the night of July 18, constable Birsa Murmu, who was part of the patrol and positioned at a stone mound, spotted some suspicious items floating from the Pakistan side to the Indian side in the river.

He sounded the alert and the BSF personnel of 10th Battalion immediately swung into action and recovered 60 cloth packets, containing 59.6 kg heroin.