In a sensational weekend development, Aryan Khan – the son of Bollywood mega-star Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri Khan – is among at least 8 youngsters being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau on Sunday, a day afer it bust a rave party aboard an Indian luxury cruise liner, Cordelia, official sources said.
A leaked video clip of a dazed Aryan Khan sitting with a few others in the NCB office, was flashed by some local TV channels, with the likelihood of more prominent names emerging.
An NCB official has said that Aryan is among several others who are being probed in connection with the alleged party that they attended aboard the luxury ship on a Mumbai-Goa cruise.
The others detained by the NCB include: Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker, Gomit Chopra and Arbaaz Merchant.
In the first of its kind operation on a deluxe cruise ship, the NCB swooped onto the rave party being held on the Cordelia ship off the Mumbai coast and detained 8 persons including Aryan Khan.
The NCB said that during the raid, it has recovered various popular party drugs like Cocaine, MDMA, Ecstasy, Mephedrone and Charas.
“A total of 8 persons, including two females have been apprehended and their role is being investigated in relation to the said recovery. Crime No 94/21 has been registered in this matter. Further investigation is underway,” the NCB said in a statement.
The action – which stunned Mumbaikars and rattled the rich crowds – started on Saturday afternoon, and is still continuing with the process of registering the FIR, with the possibility of some high-profile arrests.
NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who led the raid on the ship along with a team of officials, declined to comment on the developments as the investigations are underway.
The operation followed a tip-off on the proposed rave party that was planned aboard the Cordelia ship bound on a scheduled Mumbai-Goa voyage, setting sail from the International Cruise Terminal, Mumbai.
The participation for the party 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 at least 8 persons including two women consuming drugs, and seized different types of narcotics in varying quantities.
Simultaneously, the Cordelia ship with an estimated 1,500 passengers, 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.
