Drugs probe: NCB searches cruise ship on its return to Mumbai, detains 8 people

Narcotics Control Bureau office at Ballard Estate, Mumbai. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Narcotics Control Bureau detained eight people after searching a cruise ship on its return to Mumbai on Monday, two days after a drugs party onboard the vessel was busted off the city coast, an NCB official said.

The NCB also found some documents and some material, suspected to be drugs, after an over six-hour-long search onboard the ship, the official said, without divulging any further details.

The anti-drugs agency had on Saturday evening busted a drugs party on board the ship, of the Cordelia Cruises company, and arrested Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and seven others, including two women.

On Monday, the NCB got information that the ship returned to the city after two days. Hence, NCB officials including its zonal director Sameer Wankhede reached the cruise terminal and conducted searches onboard the vessel, the official said.

Also Read: Cruise drug raid case: NCB seeks custody of Aryan Khan, others till October 13

The sleuths subsequently detained eight people and the latter were seen with travelling bags in their hands while they were being brought from the ship to the NCB's office here.

After conducting searches on Monday, the NCB is likely to record the statement of the cruise ship manager and owner, the official said.

On Saturday evening, an NCB team, led by Wankhede, had raided the ship based on a tip-off that a party was scheduled on board. The sleuths seized 13 gm of cocaine, 5 gm of MD, 21 gm of charas and 22 pills of Ecstasy and Rs 1.33 lakh, an official earlier said.

During the raid, over 20 officials of the Mumbai NCB had boarded the ship posing as customers.

There were 1,800 people on the ship, but after checking all were asked to go except the eight, including Aryan Khan, the official said.

Besides Aryan Khan, the arrested accused were identified as Munmun Dhamecha, Arbaaz Merchant, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Gomit Chopra, Nupur Sarika, and Vikrant Chhokar, the official said.

A special holiday court had earlier remanded Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha and Arbaaz Merchant in the NCB's custody till Monday.

The anti-drugs agency had kept a close watch on the cruise ship event for 15-20 days after receiving information that a drug party would be organised. After confirmation, the NCB conducted the raid on Saturday, officials earlier said.

They had said the NCB may question officials of Delhi-based event management company Namas'cray, registered as Caneplus Trading Private Limited, and officials of the cruise company, Cordelia Cruises.

The (Delhi-based) firm was tasked with the management of the event onboard Cordelia Cruises' Empress ship, which was supposed to take place from October 2 to October 4.

All known organisers of the event are now under the scanner of the NCB, an official of the anti-drug agency earlier said.

The cruise company in a statement on Sunday said it had nothing to do with the incident.

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