Cruise drug bust: Nothing found on Aryan Khan’s person

Aryan Khan is escorted by officers outside the NCB office on Sunday. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday arrested Aryan Khan, the son of leading Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, and seven others after seizing drugs during a raid on Goa-bound Cordelia Cruises. In the court, the agency said Aryan has been booked only for consumption as of now. His lawyer told the court that he was invited by the organiser of a party that was held on the cruise.

After interrogation, the NCB arrested Khan, actor Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha and produced them in the court. The agency got one-day custody of the trio and will again seek their judicial custody on Monday.

The drugs seized from the accused. Pic Credit/NCB

Later in the day, the agency also arrested the others - Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Singh Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra and Vikrant Chhokar, who will be produced before the court on Monday.

‘Acted on a tip-off'

A few days back, the anti-drug agency received a tip-off about a party being organised aboard the cruise, and that 8-10 people, including Aryan, were getting aboard with drugs. The officers also boarded the cruise as guests, and conducted the raid late Saturday night after a few hours of surveillance. They seized drugs and detained the eight accused.

"Around 22 officers, including myself, entered the cruise as guests. We were all wearing masks so nobody recognised us," a senior NCB officer told mid-day.
NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede told mid-day, "We had specific information about 8-10 people, and during the searches we found an intermediate quantity of drugs and some incriminating chats that have been examined."

‘Found nothing on Aryan'

The officers said they raided two rooms belonging to the arrested accused. They didn't find anything on Aryan, but drugs were found in possession of Arbaaz, said officers. "Arbaaz had hidden charas inside his shoes. When we recovered it, he said that it was for consumption. At the time, Aryan was also there with him," they added.

The officers also said that Aryan, in his voluntary statement, told the NCB that the charas seized from Arbaaz was meant for consumption by both of them. "Both were detained and taken to the NCB office. We also found incriminating WhatsApp chats on their phones, which shows their links with peddlers. We are investigating the same," an officer said.

‘Chats implicate Aryan'

Advocate Satish Maneshinde, Aryan's counsel, told the court that ‘Aryan was invited on the cruise as a guest and nothing was found on him. According to them [NCB], there are various chats that implicate him..." The agency informed the court that Aryan has been booked only on consumption charge as of now.

"Offences are bailable... Aryan was invited by the organisers of the party as a special invitee. He just boarded the cruise and was seen with some friends, and later taken into custody by the NCB. They also took his phone," Shinde said in the court.

By means of this statement, I wish to express that Cordelia Cruises is in no way, directly or indirectly, connected to this incident. Cordelia Cruises had chartered its ship for a private event to a Delhi based event management company.

Cordelia Cruises in a statement said that it is "in no way, directly or indirectly, connected to this incident. Cordelia Cruises had chartered its ship for a private event to a Delhi-based event management company. We condemn all acts such as these and will strictly refrain from letting our ship out for similar events in the future. Cordelia Cruises is extending our full support and cooperating with the authorities."

What have they been booked for?

The NCB slapped Section 8C (produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consume, import inter-state, export inter-state, import into India, export from India or tranship any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance), 20B (produces, manufactures, possesses, sells, purchases, transports, imports inter-State, exports inter-State or uses cannabis, shall be punishable - 1[(i) where such contravention relates to clause (a) with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees), Section 27 (punishment for consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) read with Section 35 (presumption of culpable mental state) of the NDPS Act.

Found on cruise...

. According to the NCB, during the raids on Cordelia Cruises, officers seized drugs, including 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD (mephedrone), 21 grams of charas, 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy) and Rs 1,33,000 in cash.