NCB busts drugs party onboard cruise ship, arrests Shah Rukh Khan’s son and 2 others

 

 

ARYAN Khan, the son of Bollywood mega-star Shah Rukh Khan, and two others were on Sunday arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on charges of consumption, sale, and purchase of narcotic drugs, and sent to one day custody of the anti-drug agency, officials said. Hours after their arrest, Aryan and two others nabbed -- Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant -- were produced before the Esplanade Magistrate Court, amid tight security, late on Sunday and sent to the NCB’s custody for one day till Monday, a prosecution lawyer told media persons. The others who remain under the NCB’s detention include: Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker and Gomit Chopra, and it is not clear what course of action the agency will adopt for them. Advait Sethna, the advocate for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), sought custody of the accused for two days on the ground that the investigation is at a nascent stage and more raids were being carried out to apprehend the supplier of drugs. Aryan Khan’s advocate Satish Maneshinde argued that his client was invited to the event being held on the cruise by the organisers. “No incriminating material has been recovered from him (Aryan).

 

There is no possession or evidence of consumption,” he said. Maneshinde said he would file an application seeking bail for Aryan Khan on Monday. Earlier, NCB’s Superintendent V.V. Singh, in his arrest memo, said that Aryan Khan was being arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for his “involvement in the consumption, sale and purchase of contraband” (drugs) along with other known and unknown persons. He and seven others were detained late Saturday night by NCB sleuths after they raided the cruise ship on its way from Mumbai to Goa. As per the arrest memo of the NCB, 13 grams of cocaine, five gram of MD, 21 grams of charas and 22 pills of Ecstasy and Rs 1.33 lakh was seized after the raid. Based on a tip-off that a party was scheduled on the ship, an NCB team, led by its zonal director Sameer Wankhede, had raided the Goa-bound ship on Saturday evening and recovered drugs from some of the passengers.

 

“During the raid, over 20 officials of the Mumbai NCB boarded the ship posing as customers. There were 1,800 people on the ship but after checking all were asked to go except the eight including Aryan Khan,” the official said. Meanwhile, the official said the anti-drugs agency was keeping a close watch on this event on the cruise ship for the last 15-20 days after receiving information that a drug party will be organised. After confirmation, the NCB took the action, the official added. Meanwhile, The NCB it had evidence to show the existence of a nexus between three persons it had arrested, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, and suppliers and peddlers of drugs, in connection with the seizure of banned drugs onboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast. Cruise ship drugs party: NCB may summon event organisers, cruise officials: THE NCB is likely to summon officials of the cruise company and the event management firm in connection with the seizure of banned drugs onboard a ship near Mumbai coast in which it arrested Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and two others.. NCB raid on Mumbai cruise ship meant to divert attention from Mundra port drugs haul: Cong: THE Congress on Sunday alleged that the raid conducted by the NCB on a cruise ship in Mumbai and subsequent action against some persons was an attempt to deflect attention from the “real issue” of the drugs seizure at Mundra port in Gujarat.