Sushant Singh Rajput death: The 11 grams of cocaine were in 16 packets, along with Rs56,000 in cash.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) today arrested a Bollywood makeup artiste and hairstylist, along with an autorickshaw driver, for possessing 11 grams of cocaine and Rs 56,000 in cash, said to be the proceeds of the drug's sales.
The NCB's Mumbai Zonal Unit, in a statement, said that the agency had rounded up the two persons from the city's Oshiwara locality on Wednesday.
"Initial investigation revealed that one of the arrested persons, Suraj Godambe, is a hair stylist by profession," according to a statement issued today by NCB Zonal Head Sameer Wankhede. Godambe, a popular makeup artist and hair stylist, has worked with some big production houses, an NCB official told PTI. He was allegedly the receiver of the consignment on Wednesday. Yadav, the supplier, is an autorickshaw driver and works on behalf of a Nigerian Syndicate, the statement said.
The agency seized 11 grams of cocaine in 16 packets during the raid, along with an autorickshaw, from near Oshiwara's Meera Tower in Andheri West.
This being of "intermediate quantity", both the accused were put under arrest today. The Mumbai Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court granted NCB their custody till December 16.
The NCB has been conducting searches in Mumbai since Tuesday and had earlier arrested two other persons, including drug peddler Rigel Mahakal and one Azam Shaikh, in connection with a drugs case related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death. It seized "charas" worth Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 13.51 lakh of cash during these searches, PTI reported. The seizures were made from Shaikh's residence in Millat Nagar, Andheri West, and were one of the biggest in recent times, according to NCB officials.
Several top Bollywood actors and their family members, including Deepika Padukone, Firoz Nadiadwala, and Arjun Rampal, besides other artistes, have been questioned by NCB over the past many months in connection with the agency's widening probe into drug cartels working in the film industry.