New Delhi, February 17 The Delhi Police has arrested the kingpin of an inter-state drug trafficking syndicate from Odisha, an officer said on Tuesday.
The accused, Manoj Khillo, a resident of Odisha, was declared a proclaimed offender in a narcotics-related case registered at the Crime Branch police station here in 2022. A reward of Rs 50,000 was also announced for information leading to his arrest.
Khillo was apprehended around 5:20 pm on February 13 from a spot near his village, the officer said.
According to police, the Special Cell had received specific inputs that Khillo, who was absconding for more than three years, was actively involved in supplying narcotic drugs from Odisha to various parts of the country, including Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
"A team mounted secret surveillance and tracked his movements for more than three months. Multiple teams were dispatched to different locations in Odisha. After gathering specific information about his presence in the village, he was apprehended," the officer said.
Police said that more than six cases lodged under the Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Excise Act and for other offences are pending against the accused in Delhi and Odisha.
"In October 2025, Khillo secured interim bail for 21 days from the Odisha High Court on the pretext of his mother's medical treatment. However, after the completion of the bail period, he failed to surrender before the Koraput jail authorities and went underground. Non-bailable warrants were later issued against him in two cases," the officer said.
Further investigation is in progress, police added.
