NCB makes 11th arrest in Mumbai drug bust case

Mumbai, Oct 4: Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested two more persons in connection with Cordelia cruise drug bust case. The anti-drugs agency had earlier arrested nine, including Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

As per the NCB, the two arrested - one person who was detained during the raid of the Goa-bound ship and the other a drug peddler - will be produced before the court on Tuesday. The role of two more persons came to light after the sleuths conducted an enquiry with the suspects, including from the cruise ship.

However, their identities have not been revealed yet.

Based on a tip-off that a party was scheduled on the ship, an NCB team, led by its zonal director Sameer Wankhede, had raided the Goa-bound ship on Saturday evening and recovered drugs from some of the passengers. "During the raid, over 20 officials of the Mumbai NCB 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.

Aryan Khan, Munmun Dhamecha, daughter of a businessman from Madhya Pradesh, and Arbaaz Merchant, son of a timber businessman have been booked under Section 8C, 20B, 27 (Punishment for consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) and 35 (Presumption of culpable mental state) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), as per ANI.

The NCB has got the remand of nine accused from Court till Thursday.

Satish Maneshinde, Aryan Khan's lawyer said in the Court, "Accused number 1, Aryan Khan was invited for the cruise party. However, he did not have a boarding pass. He didn't have any seats or cabins there. Secondly, according to the seizure, nothing has been found in his possession. He is arrested only based on chats."