The ongoing discussion about drug abuse and usage in the world of entertainment primarily in Bollywood has now come alive again as when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan along with others and were accused of consumption in the cruise ship raid.
In the last year and a half, since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, NCB has contentiously probed the connection between Bollywood and drugs, demonstrating the murky foible of fritter town. But the connection between Bollywood and drugs is not something new. Bollywood has already witnessed a substance abuse case before where Actor like Sanjay Dutt was held with drugs. Even many Bollywood insiders have disclosed that numerous celebrities also use distinct sorts of non-addictive and addictive substances.
Here are some of the celebrities who have been arrested in drug-related cases-
1. Armaan Kholi
Armaan Kholi was arrested on August 28 as allegedly a small amount of cocaine was discovered from his house during a raid in June by the Narcotics Control Bureau. After the arrest of a drug peddler who was ostensibly providing drugs to film and TV celebrities, a raid was carried at Armaan Kohli’s house. As per the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), 1.2 grams of cocaine, which is the estimated consumption quantity, was obtained from Armaan Kohli’s house, while larger quantities of drugs were retrieved from the co-accused in the case.
The raid at Armaan Kohli’s house was part of NCB’s Operation Rolling Thunder which was originated by the zonal director of NCB’s Mumbai unit, Sameer Wankhede. Armaan Kohli was arrested under sections 21(a), 27(a), 28, 29, 30, & 35 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Later a special court rejected the bail petition filed by the actor. The court stated that the chats, messages and videos collected from his mobile showed that he was implicated in illegal drug trafficking. The special judge for cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, A A Jogelkar, renounced the actor’s bail plea on October 14.
2. Fardeen Khan
Bollywood actor and Feroz Khan’s son Fardeen Khan was arrested on May 5, 2001, by Mumbai Police for the possession of cocaine. The Narcotics Council Bureau (NCB) had arrested Fardeen outside a Juhu ATM on May 5th 2001 for possessing cocaine.
Nasir Shaikh who allegedly sold the drug and Tony Gomes who avowedly provided it to Shaikh was also arrested. Fardeen had confessed that he had endeavoured to buy only one gram of cocaine but the NCB affirms that they found nine grams of cocaine on Khan.
But later to get rid of his drug habit he had to endure a detoxification program in the same year and after a gap of 11 years, he came back all clean and also came back in the movie business.
3. Gabriella Demetriades
Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal’s girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades was arrested last year in October by the NCB after the officials raided a resort in Lonavala, where it also reportedly found drugs. The special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court granted bail to Demetriades on a surety of Rs 50,000 and also asked Demetriades to relinquish the passport and not to flee the city without notifying the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Later, Gabriella Dimitriades’s brother Agisilaos Demetriades was also arrested by NCB and he was restrained after recovering drugs in his possession in Goa, but later got the bail.
4. Preetika Chauhan
TV actor Preetika Chauhan was arrested in October 2020 for alleged possession of ganja. The actor had received 99 grams of ganja from a supplier, Faisal. But later she was granted bail where the court order stated that the accused prayed for a grant of bail on the ground that she is innocent and possession is of small quantity. Later the court stated that she is a resident of Mumbai and will not escape.
5. Kapil Jhaveri
After the crime branch stormed a rave party where drugs were professedly being abused, the actor was arrested in Goa in August 2020. He was the foremost accused as he had planned the party. The Goa Police also arrested one more person – Shailesh Shetty who allegedly assisted the ‘underground’ rave party that was held in a villa at Vagator. Kapil was later granted bail.
6. Shabana Saeed
Producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife Shabana Saeed was arrested by NCB along with four others while raiding at her home in Juhu where officials found 10 grams of marijuana. The others arrested were accused of being drug peddlers and suppliers. Saeed was arrested under section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Even Firoz was also been summoned for the questioning in the case.
Later Shabana got bail by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court with a bail bond of Rs 15,000. The NCB opposed the bail application but Saeed’s advocate contended that the amount of drug recovered was very small and it was for her personal consumption and not for commercial use.
7. Sanjay Dutt
During the shoot of Sanjay Dutt’s debut film – Rocky (1981), he was profoundly addicted to drugs and reportedly he carried 1 KG of heroin while travelling to Kashmir for his shoot. When his mother Nargis was treated for cancer, he was already massively consuming the narcotic substance. He has confessed in many of his interviews that during the early phase of his career, he was high even during the shoot. After he was caught in the possession of the narcotic substance, he spent five months in jail in 1982.
8. Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan & Rakul Preet Singh
All four Bollywood successful actresses were questioned by NCB in the drugs-related case being penetrated as part of the ongoing investigations in actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. All the four actresses were interrogated by the NCB as in their WhatsApp conversation ‘doob’ was used but later the actresses stated that ‘doob’ was referred to as hand-rolled cigarettes. They also stated that they didn’t even smoke cigarettes.
9. Ananya Pandey
Chunkey Pandey’s daughter Ananya Pandey is under the scanner of the NCB in the ongoing connection of drugs on cruise cases. Her name popped up in certain WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan and later her mobile phone and laptop were seized by the central agency. It is reported that NCB is questioning her in connection with her WhatsApp chats with Aryan where the former agreed to arrange contraband for the accused. But during the investigation, she denied the allegation of supplying and consuming drugs and stated that she jokingly had the conversation.
