Actor Armaan Kohli arrested after cocaine found at home
As per the preliminary investigation, the seized cocaine is of South American origin
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested actor Armaan Kohli in a drugs case after questioning him at its office in south Mumbai and seizing cocaine at his Juhu residence, an official said. He was booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Kohli has been arrested under sections 21(a) (punishment for contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations), 27(a) (financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders), 28 (attempts to commit offences), 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy), 30 (preparation), and 35 (presumption of culpable mental state) of the NDPS Act.
The announcement of his arrest was made to the media at 10 am on Sunday, he said. After his arrest, Kohli was produced before a holiday court, which remanded him in the NCB custody till Monday.
The NCB official said that a small quantity of cocaine was found at Kohli's residence on Saturday, following which a case was registered against him and he was arrested.
Kohli had featured in the Salman Khan-starter Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, amongst other films. He was also one of the contestants of the reality show Bigg Boss. The action against Kohli followed the arrest of TV actor Gaurav Dixit by the central antidrugs agency on Friday.
The official said that the NCB decided to question Kohli after certain "disclosures" were made by Ajay Raju Singh, the main drug peddler detained for interrogation on Saturday, during his interrogation. Singh was also arrested under the NDPS Act. He was intercepted near Haji Ali and 25g of MD was recovered from him, the official said.
Singh had been booked by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai Police in 2018 in connection with the seizure of a huge quantity of ephedrine. “After interrogating Singh, we launched a follow-up operation on Saturday afternoon. Subsequently, a team of NCB officials raided Kohli's houses and recovered a small quantity of cocaine,” the official said.
As per the preliminary investigation, the seized cocaine is of South American origin. “The NCB is probing the route and links through which the seized cocaine found its way to Mumbai. We are also checking the involvement of other traffickers,” he added.
Seeking Kohli's custody, the NCB told the court, on Sunday, prima facie, there is evidence against him about his involvement in an international drug syndicate.