New Delhi: After being on the run for nearly a year, police have arrested 54-year-old Kusum, an alleged drug syndicate head, accused of running a sprawling narcotics network across Delhi-NCR.A resident of Sultanpuri in northwest Delhi, Kusum is a proclaimed offender and a key accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). She was declared an absconder in Aug last year, and a reward of Rs 50,000 had been announced for information leading to her arrest.DCP (Shahdara) Rajendra Prasad Meena said a police team analysed over 200 CCTV footages and examined more than 100 mobile phone records. “Multiple raids were conducted across three states. Based on specific intelligence received on April 9, a trap was laid near Anand Vihar. When an informer identified her at the spot, she attempted to flee but was overpowered and arrested,” he said.To evade detection, Kusum deliberately avoided using a smartphone and frequently changed basic mobile phones, SIM cards and locations, effectively keeping herself off the grid.TOI had first reported last year the scale and sophistication of Kusum’s operation following a raid at her Sultanpuri residence in March. From the outside, the premises appeared to be four separate modest homes. Inside, however, internal walls had been demolished to create a single, interconnected structure resembling one massive house.Every door and window was reinforced with heavy steel bars in what officers described as “almost jail-like architecture”. The premises were fitted with mechanised doors and 17 CCTV cameras monitored round the clock. Juvenile lookouts were allegedly stationed at entry and exit points of the lane to alert occupants at the first sign of police movement.Investigators said drugs were never handed over directly. Instead, packets of heroin were lowered from balconies in baskets tied to ropes for waiting peddlers below, or slipped through narrow slits carved into grilled windows. “The delivery method was similar to how residents on upper floors exchange tiffins or groceries using ropes, except that heroin packets or tablets were being passed down,” a senior police officer said.During the March raid by a team from the Outer district police, Kusum managed to escape. Her son, who allegedly handled the day-to-day operations of the network, was arrested.Police said assets worth around Rs 4 crore, including eight properties allegedly acquired using proceeds of drug trafficking, were seized. “The financial trail led investigators to her two daughters, Anuradha alias Cheeku and Deepa, who allegedly deposited nearly Rs 2 crore through dozens of small-value transactions across multiple bank accounts over 18 months, including Rs 70 lakh in just six months. MCOCA was subsequently invoked against both sisters,” said another senior officer, adding, “Her brother Hariom and an associate, Ravi, were also allegedly part of the network.”Kusum’s criminal history spans over two decades, with 11 FIRs registered against her under the NDPS Act at multiple police stations, including Crime Branch, Chhawla, Bawana and Narcotics Cell, dating back to 2003.
