Aryan Khan arrested, charged for consumption of illegal drugs: NCB's Samir Wankhede

Aryan Khan at NCB office, Mumbai. Pic/Shadab Khan

Eight people, including Aryan Khan -- the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri Khan have been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday after yesterday's raid on a cruise ship in Mumbai.

The accused were taken to JJ Hospital for medical checkup. Aryan Khan has been charged for consumption of illegal drugs. NCB chief Samir Wankhede told mid-day, "Aryan Khan has been arrested under section 8C, 20B, 27 and 35 of the NDPS Act."

NCB sources also revealed that accused Arbaaz Merchant had hidden the drugs in his shoes to escape security check. The anti-drug agency has also come across WhatsApp exchanges between Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.

A top official had earlier said that the detained accused were likely to be arrested.

The eight detainees have been identified as -- Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker and Gomit Chopra.

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Director-General S.N. Pradhan had earlier said that all the eight accused were detained on Saturday during raids carried out by an NCB team in Mumbai.

"Of the eight accused, three are from Delhi," Pradhan had told IANS. He further said all the eight accused are currently being questioned and are likely to be arrested.

All the eight detainees have been identified as -- Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker and Gomit Chopra.

Of these, Mohak, Nupur and Gomit are from Delhi. Mohak and Nupur are both fashion designers while Gomit is a hair stylist. Sources confirmed to IANS that both Mohak and Nupur had come to Delhi with Gomit.

Also read: Aryan Khan among those detained for questioning in cruise ship drug bust: NCB

In the first of its kind operation on a cruise ship, the NCB swooped onto the rave party being held on the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

The raid -- which shocked Mumbaikars and rattled the rich crowds -- started on Saturday afternoon, is still continuing with the process of registering the FIR underway, with the possibility of some high-profile arrests.

DG Pradhan told IANS that they were investigating this drug racket for the past two weeks. He further said that the involvement of some from the film fraternity has also come to the fore.

"The probe is still underway and we are investigating all angles," he said.

The participation for the rave party, where NCB conducted raid on Saturday, was reportedly done via social media with the ticket rates upwards of Rs 75,000 per person.

To avoid detection, the NCB sleuths booked themselves on that cruise as ordinary passengers and they soon found some of their co-passengers consuming drugs.

Then the NCB launched its full-scale raid, detained eight passengers, including two women, consuming drugs, and seized different types of narcotics in varying quantities.

Simultaneously, the cruise ship was ordered to turn and sail back to the ICT at Ballard Pier where the detained passengers were offloaded along with their baggage.

A comprehensive search of their belongings as also the cruise ship is being carried out, while the detainees were sent for a medical examination.

(With agency inputs)