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NCB Busts Major Cocaine Operation In Delhi, Seizes Over 80 kg And Arrests 4

November 16, 2024, 10:30 pm

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has made a significant cocaine bust in Delhi, arresting four individuals and recovering over 80 kg of high-quality cocaine from the Janakpuri and Nangloi areas. The estimated market value of the seized drugs is between Rs 11 crore and Rs 14 crore per kilogram.

NCB Deputy Director General (DDG) Neeraj Kumar Gupta explained that the operation began with the seizure of 1 kg of cocaine from a small courier company, and further investigation led to the discovery of 73 packets containing over 81.5 kg of cocaine. “A total of four people have been arrested. Based on further leads, we raided a house where the bulk of the drugs were found,” Gupta told ANI.

Also Read: NCB Seizes Rs 900 Crore Worth Of Cocaine In Delhi: Amit Shah

The parcel seized on November 11 was intended for export to Australia, as was a previous one in August. Gupta emphasized that the NCB is closing in on the key players behind the operation, with the cocaine’s market price estimated at Rs 11-14 crore per kilogram.

The success of the operation, which followed leads from earlier seizures in March and August 2024, was credited to a mix of technical and human intelligence. Despite the smugglers’ attempts to disrupt the supply chain, the NCB traced the cocaine to Janakpuri and Nangloi. The investigation revealed that the syndicate, operated by individuals based abroad, was using courier and cargo services to send the drugs to Australia, with hawala operators communicating under pseudonyms for trafficking activities.

NCB Seizes Rs 900 Crore Worth Of Cocaine In Delhi: Amit Shah

November 15, 2024, 11:36 pm

High-grade cocaine worth ₹900 crore was seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in New Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on X on Friday.

This back-to-back major breakthrough against the illicit drugs in one single day show that this Modi government is completely committed to making a drug-free Bharat,” Shah said. The NCB today seized 82.53 kg of high-grade cocaine in New Delhi. Such a massive consignment of drugs worth approximately ₹900 crore was tracked down through a bottom-to-top approach after a quantity of drugs was seized in a courier center in Delhi. Our hunt against the drug rackets shall continue ruthlessly.

Also Read: EC Officials Check Amit Shah’s Bags During His Maharashtra Visit| Video

The NCB, in its statement said that it revealed from the investigation that an overseas syndicate was involved in running the racket, which planned to send part of the contraband to Australia through courier and small cargo services. The statement said that the racket used pseudonyms to keep anonymity and the people involved were mostly hawala operators.

Contrary to this, around 700 kg of Methamphetamine worth an estimated ₹2,500-3,500 crore was seized off Gujarat’s Porbandar coast earlier during the day. Eight foreign nationals, who claimed to be Iranians, were seized.

Major narcotic drug seizures occurred in October as well. ₹13,000 crores worth of drugs were seized. On 13 October, as much as 518 kgs of cocaine worth ₹5,000 crore was seized in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. Delhi Police had earlier seized 562 kgs of cocaine and 40 kg of hydrophonic marijuana from Mahipalpur. Once again, 208 kgs of cocaine were seized from a shop in Ramesh Nagar.

The hunt against drugs and narco trade will continue with no laxity, Shah said.

NCB seizes over 4300 kg poppy straw in Ranchi; arrests 3 accused

August 9, 2024, 3:17 pm

In a significant blow to drug traffickers, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 4317 kg of poppy straw loaded in a triple-axle lorry and arrested three accused in Ranchi.

The NCB has also seized a new Mahindra Thar vehicle on Thursday, and efforts are underway to apprehend the other accused in all these cases, officials said.

According to NCB officials, the opium seized is of the highest quality, as confirmed by lab tests.

Thursday’s seizure comes on the heels of previous successes, including the seizure of 103.4 kg of high-quality opium from a dumping yard on June 12 in Ranchi and 802 kg of poppy straw on May 31, from an interior location of Khunti district.

Officials told ANI that NCB is committed to dismantling the entire gang involved in drug trafficking and disrupting their financial networks.

Further investigation is ongoing to identify and bring to justice all those involved in these illicit activities, officials said. (ANI)

Kingpin of ₹50cr drug smuggling racket arrested

July 17, 2024, 2:10 pm

In a significant development in a drug smuggling case involving 31.5 kg of Mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 50 crore, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Sufiyan Yakub Khan, 36, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the operation. Khan had been evading capture since the smuggling ring was exposed last month in Sewree.

The case came to light on June 26 when NCB officials, acting on specific intelligence, apprehended Musharaf Jan Mohammed Kapadia in Nagpada and seized 10 kg of MD from him. Interrogation of Kapadia led the agency to raid the residence of Nausheen Khan in Do Taki, central Mumbai, where they discovered an additional 10 kg of MD along with Rs 69.13 lakh in cash.

Further investigation implicated Mohammed Saif Khan, a resident of Sewree. The NCB recovered 11 kg of MD from Saif Khan and seized a scooter allegedly used for drug peddling. During Saif Khan’s questioning, it was disclosed that Sufiyan Khan supplied the MD. The NCB then set a trap and captured Sufiyan Khan, subsequently charging him under the NDPS Act for his involvement in the drug smuggling network.

According to the police, the recovered narcotics were intended for distribution throughout the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The syndicate had been active in drug trafficking for an extended period. The three suspects are being interrogated for more information, and the investigation is ongoing. Police noted that Sufiyan Khan comes from a respectable family and appears to be well-educated.

In related news, Haryana police busted a drug racket, seizing 900 kg of narcotics worth over Rs 30 lakh in Jind district, arresting two individuals from Punjab. The Madras High Court flagged a concerning alliance between police and advocates in narcotic drug cases, urging its dismantling to maintain legal integrity. Additionally, Shimla Police arrested a major drug peddler in Theog, leading to the recovery of 1.5 kg of opium.

NCB arrests Jaffer Sadiq, kingpin of international drug trafficking network

March 9, 2024, 4:46 pm

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Jaffer Sadiq, the mastermind behind an international drug trafficking network recently dismantled by the agency. Sadiq is believed to be the leader of a network spanning across India, New Zealand, Australia, and Malaysia. He has allegedly amassed substantial wealth through drug trafficking and invested it in various sectors including film, construction, and hospitality.

Gyaneshwar Singh, Deputy Director General of NCB, announced the arrest, stating that Sadiq had been on the run since February 15, following the seizure of 50.70 kg of Pseudoephedrine from a godown belonging to a firm named Aventa Company. Pseudoephedrine is a key ingredient used in the production of methamphetamine, a highly sought-after drug globally.

NCB had been actively pursuing Sadiq after the seizure and subsequent arrest of three of his associates in connection with the drug trafficking network. Sadiq was apprehended in Delhi on March 9, following a coordinated effort between NCB and the Special Cell of Delhi Police.

According to Gyaneshwar Singh, Sadiq’s network was responsible for sourcing Pseudoephedrine from India and smuggling it to Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia under the guise of food-grade cargo. The syndicate is believed to have dispatched approximately 45 consignments over the past three years, totaling around 3500 kilograms of Pseudoephedrine. NCB is collaborating with authorities in New Zealand and Australia to dismantle the entire transnational network.

Sadiq has reportedly confessed to amassing significant wealth from his illicit activities and investing it in legitimate businesses across various industries. NCB is currently investigating the financial aspects of his drug trafficking operations to trace the sources of his funds and identify the beneficiaries.

In addition to his drug-related activities, Sadiq’s connections to political funding are also under scrutiny. NCB is conducting a thorough investigation into these allegations to uncover any links between Sadiq and political figures.

Pseudoephedrine is a controlled substance in India due to its use as a precursor chemical in the manufacture of Methamphetamine. Possession, trade, and export of Pseudoephedrine without proper authorization are punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment under the NDPS Act, 1985.

The investigation has also revealed links to individuals in the Tamil film industry and Bollywood. NCB is continuing its probe into these connections to unravel the full extent of the network.

NCB busts pan-India drug network, seizes largest haul in two decades

June 6, 2023, 3:13 pm

In its biggest seizure in the last two decades, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has confiscated 15,000 drug bolts of LSD and arrested six people linked to a pan-India network of drug traffickers operating over the dark web.

The agency has also seized 2.5 kilograms of imported marijuana and Rs 4.65 lakh in cash in possession of the suspects, agency sources said on Tuesday. According to NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh, the gang used cryptocurrency and the darknet, adding that the delivery was mostly done through courier services. “All dealings were virtual,” the NCB deputy director general said, adding the suspects used private messaging apps to communicate. The agency has also seized Rs 20 lakh deposited in various bank accounts.

“We’ve arrested six persons in two cases and seized 15,000 blots of LSD drug…The commercial quantity of this drug is 0.1 grams. It is a synthetic drug and is very dangerous. This is the biggest seizure in the last two decades,” the NCB Deputy Director General said. LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a synthetic chemical based-drug that is categorised as a hallucinogen.

The NCB official said the seized amount of 15,000 LSD blots is 2,500 times the commercial quantity. For reference, in 2021, the then Karnataka Chief Minister congratulated state police for confiscating 5,000 blots over the course of a year.

According to investigators, LSD is quite popular among youth and most of the people involved in this network are educated and young. “LSD is very easy to smuggle and almost difficult to trace. A commercial quantity is made up of 5 or 6 blots. The NCB has recovered 15,000 blots…there has not been such a huge seizure in the last several years.”

“India is slowly becoming a big consumer of LSD, which is dangerous. It is a huge network and was spread across Poland, the Netherlands, the USA, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh,” the Director General said. “Earlier in 2021, we had busted 3 dark net sites by arresting 40 accused.” The Delhi zonal team busted the cartel with the help of several units.

CBI books case officer of srk’s son for demanding Rs 25crore bribe.

May 13, 2023, 3:28 am

The CBI has filed an FIR against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede for allegedly seeking Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, officials said on Friday.
Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on 2 October 2021, they said.
A coordinated search operation was launched on Friday at 29 locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Lucknow, Guwahati and Chennai after filing the FIR against the 2008-batch IRS officer Wankhede and four others — then NCB Superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, Intelligence Officer Ashish Ranjan and two private persons K P Gosavi and Sanvile D’Souza — in the case, they said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Wankhede and others for alleged criminal conspiracy (120-B IPC), and threat of extortion (388 IPC) besides provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
“It has been alleged that the said officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau of Mumbai Zone, in order to obtain undue advantage from the persons and others in the Case No. 94/2021… registered and investigated under the supervision of then Zonal Director of Mumbai Zone of NCB, had entered into criminal conspiracy with others and allegedly obtained undue advantage in the form of bribes from the alleged accused…”, a CBI spokesperson said. The probe agency.

Investigation Team of the NCB took over the investigation.
Aryan Khan, who was formally arrested by the NCB on 3 October 2021, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on 28 October 2021 after spending 25 days in jail.
The NCB on May 27, 2022 also filed a 6,000-page charge sheet against 14 accused, giving a clean chit to Aryan Khan.
NCB officials said Aryan Khan and five others were not named in the agency’s charge sheet due to “lack of sufficient evidence”.
Besides the NCB SIT found “grave irregularities” and gaps in the probe, the officials said, adding that the central agency’s first team that arrested Aryan did not follow rules like mandatory medical test of accused, video recording of the raids and corroborate evidence for WhatsApp chats.

NCB Director General S N Pradhan had told reporters in Delhi that there were “shortcomings” in the investigation and WhatsApp chat of the accused had no “physical corroborative evidence” as required to prove the charges in the court. Wankhede, who headed the Narcotics Control Bureau Zonal Unit in Mumbai at the time of Aryan Khan’s arrest, was transferred to the DG Taxpayer Service Directorate in Chennai in May last year.
The much hyped case took a twist when an ‘independent witness’ had claimed in 2021 that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and other persons, including a witness Gosavi, to let off Aryan Khan.
Prabhakar Sail, the ‘independent witness’, now deceased, had told media persons that he had overheard Gosavi telling D’Souza over the phone about the demand of Rs 25 crore after Aryan Khan was brought to the NCB office after the 2 October raid. He also claimed NCB officials had asked him to sign nine to ten blank papers. However, a senior NCB official had denied the allegations, terming them as “completely false and malicious”.

Sameer Wankhede pays homage to Dr BR Ambedkar

April 14, 2023, 4:37 pm

On Friday, Sameer Wankhede, a former Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zone director and IRS officer, visited Mumbai’s Chaityabhoomi to pay respects to Babasaheb Ambedkar on the occasion of his birth anniversary. The former Mumbai NCB zonal director was accompanied by actress Kranti Redkar.
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Shimla: Police recover about 800 gm narcotics, accused held

November 18, 2022, 12:51 pm

Police officials have recovered 802 grams of narcotics Charas from the accused named Diwan Chand who hails from Banjar, Kullu.

Under section 20 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (ND&PS) Act at Kumarsain Police Station the case has been filed.

However further investigation into the matter is underway.

Earlier on Thursday, the Shimla police arrested one accused from which 600 gms of opium and 98.60 gms of charas were recovered by police.

Meanwhile, the arrested accused has been identified as Hum Bahadur and police also recovered Rs 71,000 cash along with 600 gm opium, and 98.60 gm charas.

However, to address the drug trafficking issue prevailing in the state Director General of Himachal Pradesh Police, Sanjay Kundu, met the DG of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), SN Pradhan in Delhi met on Wednesday.

Taking to Twitter Himachal DGP tweeted, “Discussed a joint strategy to ensure drug-free Himachal Pradesh”.

Chennai: Alleged drug dealer jumps off NCB building, dies in hospital

October 22, 2022, 3:42 pm

An alleged contraband drug dealer who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) allegedly jumped off the third floor of the office of the NCB agency in Chennai on Friday.

A 39-year-old drug dealer has been identified as Rayappa Raju Anthony a resident of Hyderabad. The accused jumped from the building when an NCB team was preparing him to take government hospital for a medical check-up.

“At around 9.30 pm on October 21, the NCB Chennai team was ready to take Rayappa Raju Anthony for a medical checkup at Avadi Government Hospital before producing him before the honorable court at Ponneri, Rayappa Raju Anthony jumped from the third floor of NCB, Chennai office in an attempt to commit suicide,” the statement from NCB said.

Meanwhile, the Avadi Government Hospital performed emergency treatment and later declared him dead.

“Based on the complaint a case in T10 Thirumullaivoyal Police Station was registered and taken for investigation. In this connection, a requisition was sent to Judicial magistrate Ambattur for conducting an inquest and inquiry,” it added.

Moreover, the NCB detained Raju Anthony near Karanodai Toll Plaza in Chennai on Friday and seized 48,300 kg of white crystalline stick substance.

NCB recovers drugs worth Rs 120 crore in Mumbai, Gujarat; 6 held

October 7, 2022, 11:46 am

The Narcotics Control Bureau recovered MD drugs worth Rs 120 crore from Mumbai and Gujarat in a major drug haul.

Meanwhile, from Mumbai, a total of 50 kilograms of drugs were recovered and from Gujarat, 10.350 kg were seized.

“Acting on an input, NCB recovered approx 50 kg of MD drugs concealed in a godown in Mumbai. Two people including the kingpin of the cartel arrested. Both the arrested accused are from Mumbai,” Deputy Director General, NCB, SK Singh said.

“Initially, info regarding the sale of MD drugs in Gujarat was shared by the Naval Intelligence Unit of Jamnagar, Gujarat. This input was jointly developed by NCB and Naval Intelligence Unit and seized around 10.350 kg of MD drugs and 4 persons were arrested,” Singh said.

There is an involvement of a former pilot and Singh highlighted and said, “One of those arrested in Jamnagar has been identified as Sohail Ghaffar, who was a pilot with Air India from 2016-18. A preliminary probe revealed that both seizures have common linkages. The value of total seized (60 Kg) MD drug is approximately Rs 120 crore.”

Earlier in September from Mumbai, a total of 200 kg of ganja was seized by the NCB.

Moreover, a raid was also carried out by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the Ghatkopar area and arrested the person named Subham Bhagat. Subham Bhagat is a gym trainer.

However, based on the secret information the raids were conducted at the house of Subham from where different types of drugs were recovered.

1300 Kgs of drugs to be burnt by NCB, Amit Shah to Virtually witness the event

July 30, 2022, 12:43 pm

The Narcotic Control Beaureu, Chennai unit, is likely to destroy 1309.41 kilogrammes of seized drugs in a private plant. The home minister, Amit Shah, is scheduled to be present virtually to witness the drug destruction.

The seized drugs will be incinerated at the GJ Multiclave, a private facility in the village of Thenmelpakkam in the Chengalpattu district.

The NCB team will destroy numerous drug varieties, such as white colour crystalline powder and brownish-green colour dried leaves, which were found at various locations throughout Chennai at various periods.

The conference on drug trafficking and national security is set to be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Chandigarh on Saturday.Under the minister’s supervision, personnel from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati, and Kolkata would burn and dispose of drugs during the conference.

Drug destruction day is observed on June 8 and to mark the day, 40,000 kilogrammes of seized drugs and illicit narcotic substances were destroyed across India. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman, was virtually present at this event.

The finance minister was grateful for law enforcement’s dedication to stopping even the tiniest bit of drug smuggling in the nation.

NCB accused actor Rhea Chakraborty of aiding Sushant Singh Rajput’s drug addiction

July 13, 2022, 12:42 pm

NCB made a disclosure on Wednesday in the SSR death case. The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) has filed a chargesheet prosecuting Rhea along with 34 others in the high-profile case.

Ms. Chakraborty has been charged with getting supplies of marijuana illicitly to heighten Sushant’s extreme drug addiction.

NCB has submitted a draft charge to the special court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act mentioning the details of charges against each accused.

The charges against Rhea who was supposedly the girlfriend of the late actor Sushant, has been held responsible for purchasing and financing the drugs by the NCB. The charges state, “That in pursuance of the aforesaid criminal conspiracy or otherwise, you accused no. 10 Rhea Chakroborty received many deliveries of ganja from Samuel Miranda, Showik Chakroborty and Dipesh Sawant and others and handed over those deliveries to Actor late Sushant Singh Rajput and made payments for those deliveries at the instance Showik & Late Sushant Singh Rajput during the period March 2020 to September 2020.”

Ms. Chakraborty was arrested in September 2020 and got bail after a month of arrest in Mumbai. The actor has called the allegation a “witch-hunt.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation is inquiring into the case, while police called it a suicide.

NCB GRILLS ARJUN RAMPAL FOR SECOND TIME IN DRUGS CASE

December 22, 2020, 7:20 am

Mumbai: Actor Arjun Rampal appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office here on Monday in a drugs case. Rampal, who was summoned last week, had sought time till 22 December to appear before the agency citing “personal reasons.” The NCB had questioned Rampal and his partner, Gabriella Demetriades, last month and arrested Gabriella’s brother Agisilaos in the case.

In November, the agency searched Rampal’s residence in Bandra and seized 11 gadgets, including laptop, mobile phones, pen drives and tablets. As some documents and banned pills were also recovered, Rampal was summoned and questioned on November 13 for nearly seven hours at the NCB office in Ballard Estate. Gabriella was questioned twice.

Sources in NCB have confirmed that Rampal got a backdated prescription from a Delhi-based doctor for a medicine which falls under schedule H of NDPS act which requires doctor’s prescription.NCB has also recorded the doctor’s statement under Section 164 IPC. The agency also questioned another doctor in Mumbai in this regard.

Last month, Rampal was questioned in a drugs case in connection with the seizure of banned painkillers from his home in Bandra West. The NCB had summoned the 47-year-old actor to explain why he was in possession of opioid drug Tramadol.

Arjun Rampal’s partner Demetriades was questioned twice after she was held responsible for the narcotics. NCB involved Rampal and Demetriades in the investigation after they discovered the involvement of Demetriades’ brother Agisilaos Demetriades in drug cases and found that he was in touch with many Bollywood celebrities, said an NCB officer.

Agisilaos was arrested on October 17 from a resort at Lonawala where he was staying with his fiance. NCB officials recovered 0.8 grams of a black-coloured sticky substance purported to be hashish (charas). Alprazolam tablets were also found in a search at his Khar residence.

NCB, which has been investigating the drug angle into late actor Rajput’s death, has till now arrested 28 people, including Bollywood celebrities like comedienne Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa.

Before this, Bollywood actors like Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh have also been questioned by NCB officials.

Key to Bollywood’s drug saga riddle lies in Gujarat

December 19, 2020, 5:24 am

Regarding the Bollywood drug case, the NCB recently sent the Forensic Sciences Library (FSL) in Gandhinagar two hard disks and other gadgets owned by several actors for data retrieval.

Of the total 100 gadgets collected, 80 are iPhones, from which mobile data from 30 has been analysed by FSL so far, and 70 are still running. Data from the past two years, including video clips, has been found. The big names involved in the case include Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Riya Chakraborty, Arjun Rampal.

This is the first case where 100 phones are being analysed simultaneously. FSL has received a fee of Rs 15 lakh for the task. The data retrieved from the gadgets contains video clips, WhatsApp chats and WhatsApp call data. By examining this, the NCB is expected to get information about the drug peddlers with whom the stars had connections.

Of all the gadgets, ten phones belong to Arjun Rampal, his girlfriend and his brother. All these phones were recently seized by the NCB and sent to FSL for investigation. However, the phones are yet to be investigated.

NCB ISSUES NOTICE TO KARAN JOHAR, SEEKS DETAILS OF 2019 PARTY VIDEO

December 18, 2020, 3:10 am

MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has sent a notice to filmmaker Karan Johar in connection with the alleged drug party at his residence in 2019 in which several Bollywood personalities were seen in a viral video. He has been asked to share the details by Friday.

An NCB official said that a notice has been given with regard to the video which was in circulation. “The NCB had received a complaint from Manjinder Singh Sirsa in this regard and was marked to the Maharashtra Zonal Unit. To check the veracity of the video the notice has been sent,» the official said.

Another NCB official not wishing to be named told IANS that he has been asked to share the details about the party video by Friday, 18 December. The official also clarified that Johar has not been asked to appear before the drug-law enforcement agency.

Sirsa, a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, approached the NCB in September this year over the alleged drug party hosted at Johar’s residence in 2019 where several top actors were in attendance including Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor, Malaika Arora, among others.

The NCB in the last few months has questioned several film personalities in connection with separate drug cases related to Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and other cases.

NCB summons Arjun Rampal again

December 16, 2020, 3:20 am

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has summoned actor Arjun Rampal for questioning at its Mumbai office on Wednesday.

The actor has been asked to be present before the NCB team, which is conducting an investigation into the alleged drug-use in Bollywood, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year, an official said.

This is the second time that the anti-drugs bureau will question the model-turned actor in the case. On 13 November, Rampal was questioned by the agency for seven hours.

Rampal was summoned on Wednesday after the NCB obtained some information during interrogation of some of the persons arrested in the drugs case. The agency had conducted searches at Rampal’s residence last month, following which it seized electronic gadgets and some medicines under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The actor’s partner Gabriella Demtriades was also questioned by the NCB for two days in November. Gabriella’s brother Agisilaos Demetriades was arrested by the bureau in the case in October and it was found that he was in touch with many Bollywood celebrities, the official said.

Rampal’s friend Paul Bartel was also earlier arrested by the NCB in the drugs case. Based on some WhatsApp chats involving drugs, the NCB launched a probe into the alleged drug use in Bollywood after the death of Rajput in June this year.

The central agency had earlier arrested Rajput’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some employees of the late actor and a few others under sections of the NDPS Act.

Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, and some other accused were later granted bail.

Meanwhile, a special NDPS court in Mumbai on Tuesday granted bail to Agisilaos Demetriades, brother of Rampal’s partner Gabriella, and two others in a drug-related case. Demetriades was arrested in October after the NCB raided a resort in Lonavala where he was celebrating his birthday and allegedly found 0.8 gm of a sticky brown substance. He was granted bail by Special Judge G.B. Gurao, said his lawyer Kushal Mor.