Cruise Ship Drugs Bust Case: Mumbai Court Denies Bail to Aryan Khan

A local court in Mumbai denied bail to Aryan Khan who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India under various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He is currently lodged in Arthur Road jail after he was remanded to judicial custody on October 8.

Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh and his wife Gauri, was arrested by the anti-drug agency on October 3 following a late-night raid on a cruise ship that was en route to Goa. Along with Khan, seven others including Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were also arrested by the NCB. The drugs bust on the cruise ship led to the recovery of 13 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of MD (mephedrone), 21 grams of charas (small quantity), 22 pills of MDMA (ecstasy) (intermediate quantity), and Rs 1,33,000 from the accused at International Cruise Terminal, Mumbai.

The anti-drug agency arrested 19 others including two Nigerian nationals in the days that followed.

Also Read: Cruise Ship Drugs Bust Case: No Bail For Aryan Khan

"Police has found drug-related WhatsApp chats that are allegedly between Aryan Khan and a debut Actress," the NCB added while submitting Khan's WhatsApp chats as evidence in court today hours before the court was supposed to pronounce its verdict.

The special NDPS court on October 19 had reserved its order on Khan's bail plea following exhaustive arguments from all the accused and the anti-drug agency. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, representing the NCB, argued that one needed to take a "serious view" of drug abuse amongst the youth.

"…(Aryan) is not a first-time consumer, Singh argued. "The evidence placed before the court shows that he is a regular consumer of contraband for the last few years," he added. Singh further relied on WhatsApp chats to allege Khan's involvement in an illicit international drug trafficking ring.

However, senior advocate Amit Desai said allegations of Khan's involvement in the illicit trafficking of drugs were inherently absurd as he rebutted allegations made by the anti-drug agency.

Also Read: Aryan Khan Remanded to NCB Custody till October 7