NCB officials conducted a raid on Cordelia Cruise on October 2 based on specific information. The cruise was going from Mumbai to Goa and officials from NCB Mumbai conducted the raid. All suspects were searched according to the information provided, and various drugs, including MDMA/Ecstasy, cocaine, MD (Mephedrone), and charas, were recovered. Mumbai NCB reported that a total of 8 accused were apprehended in the raid, including two women. Their roles in the recovery are being investigated, along with those of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant.
In court, however, Aryan and Arbaaz’s lawyer claimed that the two had yet to board the cruise and had already been detained by investigators before they could board. The other accused, like Munmun Dhamecha and five others, who were allegedly arrested from the ship, were reboarded. According to V V Singh, the investigating officer, the Magistrate Court was told that Khan, Merchant and Dhanecha were invited to a party that would take place when the cruise sailed. The NCB officials warned the organizers not to depart after the Saturday raid, he continued.
Following the return from the high seas, NCB officials had to conduct fresh searches when the cruise returned to the dock at Bombay on October 4. Those who are familiar with the case would wonder whether the drugs were thrown off the ship so that those in possession of them could run away from the law. Other government agencies are said to have begun investigating the ship after the fiasco, which is said to have been sailing without a license to hold a party. The Mumbai Police have begun to investigate the case from this angle as crowd regulation was in vogue during the pandemic. At least 1,200 people were on board the cruise, according to the agencies.
Despite NCB raiding the ship and searching for many people, there was only a small amount of drugs found on board and among the organizers. Neither Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan nor another person, Avin Sahu, were found with drugs. Both of them were sent to the NCB for custodial interrogation. NCB’s statements have been refuted by most of the accused, including Khan. Possession of a small quantity of drugs, which varies from contraband to contraband, is considered for personal consumption and is not seen as harshly as someone who is caught with a large quantity of drugs. The country forbids the import or export of large consignments under its law.
NCB contends that on the ship, after the raid, the accused individuals were individually found to be in possession of only a small amount of marijuana. NCB reported that Merchant had 5 mg of ganja, while the same goes for Munmun according to NCB. On October 2, the NCB reported that they had seized 13 grams of cocaine (intermediate amount), 5 grams of MD (mephedrone) (medium quantity), 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy) (medium quantity) and Rs 1,33,000 at the International Cruise Terminal.
Read more: State bans cultural events and mandates large pandals during Durga Pooja
It has only been now that new names have emerged and new arrests have been made after the eight accused, who were arrested earlier, named the suppliers from whom they purchased the drugs. Upon preliminary interrogation of the accused, NCB Mumbai conducted a raid at Jogeshwari and seized 2.5 grams of ecstasy and 54.3 grams (commercial quantity) of mephedrone from Abdul Qadir. According to legal experts, using a commercial quantity can help the NCB build a strong case.
Post Your Comments