SSR case: Taxi driver held; NCB probes international cocaine link

SSR case: Taxi driver held; NCB probes international cocaine link

Sohail Shaikh has been involved in supplying high quality cocaine to some of those who have already arrested in the case and to other high profile clients

Pratik SalunkeUpdated: Sunday, October 25, 2020, 01:22 AM IST
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Mumbai: In a fresh arrest in connection with the drug case linked with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput , the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested a taxi driver for allegedlly supplying contraband to several high profile persons.

The name of arrested person has been identified as Sohail Amirjada Shaikh, 35. "Shaikh has been involved in supplying high quality cocaine to some of those who have already arrested in the case and to other high profile clients," said a senior NCB officer.

The agency has put certain suspects under scanner for procuring the contraband from Shaikh. The agency has not ruled out involvement of Bollywood celebrities in procuring drugs from Shaikh. He was arrested from Pune where he was living at present. The agency has seized 7.2 grams of charas from his possession.

The agency is also investigating Shaikh's alleged links with Arjun Rampal's girlfriend Gabriella's brother Agisilaos Demetriades.

The NCB has identified an international cocaine smuggling racket during their course of investigation. "It has been revealed that Cocaine has been brought to the city from abroad and supplied to a specific section of persons as the contraband is of good quality," said the officer. The NCB has been probing one of the most talked-about cases of the year linked to the death of Rajput.

Demetriades, who was arrested last Sunday, is South African and the first foreigner to be arrested in the case. The agency has been questioning him to probe any international links. The NCB has alleged that Demetriades is part of the drug syndicate and has been in touch with the other accused arrested in the case.

On the basis of information, a room at a resort in Lonavla was searched, where Demetriades was staying with his fiance, and 0.8 grams of small, round, black sticky substance, purportedly charas, was found.

The agency had searched the Khar residence of the accused, where 1 strip of Alprazolam tablets was recovered."

The agency has recorded statement of Demetriades wherein he said that he consumed cannabis leaves sometimes and the same was supplied by a rickshaw driver, whom the agency believes to be Sandeep Gupta, already arrested in the case, as per NCB's argument before the court during Demetriades's remand hearing. Demetriades, however, has denied allegations and retracted his statement.

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