Mumbai cruise raid: 8 accused presented before city court

All the eight accused, arrested after a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast, including Aryan Khan, were taken to the city court on Monday.

An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on Saturday night. Eight persons were detained for questioning by the NCB in connection with the drug seizure on the cruise ship, according to NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede. All of the eight persons were later arrested on Sunday.

Three accused including Aryan Khan, Arbaz Seth Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha were produced before Mumbai's Esplanade Court which sent remanded to NCB custody till October 4.

As per the NCB, three persons 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).

Section 8C of NDPS Act refers to prohibition to produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consume, import inter-State, export inter-State, import into India, export from India or tranship any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance while Section 20B deals with punishment for producing, manufacturing, possessing, selling, purchasing, transportation, imports inter-State, exports inter-State or use of cannabis.

Satish Maneshinde, the lawyer arguing in defence of Aryan Khan 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."

Other accused Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Singh Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra and Vikrant Chhokar were arrested later today and will be produced before the Court tomorrow after their medical tests.

(ANI)