In fresh trouble that began brewing for Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal ahead of his questioning that lasted for eight-long hours, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday arrested his Australian friend Paul Bartel in the much-discussed Bollywood-drug mafia nexus case.
Hours before Rampal appeared before the investigating agency for questioning, the NCB placed Bartel under arrest in the early hours of Friday. Bartel’s arrest had followed an intense grilling that he was subjected to by the NCB on Thursday.
An architect by profession who resides in Bandra, Bartel is said to be Rampal’s friend. The actor has known Bartel for a long time. He used to be a regular touch with Agisialos Demetriades, the brother of actor’s live-in friend Gabriella Demetriades.
Agisialos was arrested by the NCB from Lonavala near Pune on October 19. Agisilaos is alleged to be a part of a larger drug syndicate operating in Bollywood, which is being investigated after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Forty-seven-year-old Rampal, who arrived at the NCB headquarters in the afternoon, was grilled for eight hours in connection with the nature of his links with Agisialos and Bartel, the seizures made during the raid conducted at his Bandra residence for sev4en hours on Monday, the role of his live-partner Gabriella, a South African model in the nexus with the drug peddlers.
Talking to media persons after the questioning, Rampal said: “I am fully co-operating with the investigations. I have nothing to do with drugs. The medicine found at my residence (during Monday’s raid) was prescribed by a doctor. The prescription has been found and handed over to the NCB officials. The NCB officials are doing a good job and I support them in their investigations.
Rampal’s grilling came after two rounds of questioning that the NCB subjected his live-partner Gabriella to, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Monday’s raid on Rampal’s residence, the subsequent questioning of Gabriella, Bartel’s arrest and Arjun Rampal’s grilling should be seen in the context of the arrest of Gabriella’s brother Agisilaos Demetriades made by the NCB in connection with Bollywood-drug mafia nexus case.
The NCB’s investigations have revealed that Agisialos was in touch with Omega Godwin, a Nigerian national who had earlier been arrested for supply of cocaine in Mumbai. During his custodial interrogation, Godwin had named Agisialos. Earlier, ex-Dharma Productions employee Kshitij Prasad had earlier been arrested by the NCB in the in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput’s death-related drug case and expanded Bollywood-drug nexus case.
Sushant, it may be recalled, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his closed room of his duplex flat at Mont Blanc building at Bandra’s Carter Road in north-west Mumbai on June 14.
Incidentally, the raid on Rampal’s residence came a day after the NCB officials carried out searches at film producer Firoz A. Nadiadwala’s residence along Gulmohar Cross Road at Juhu Vile Parle Development (JVPD) Scheme in north-west Mumbai. During the searches, the NCB sleuths seized a total of 717.1 gm of Ganja, 74.1 gm charas and 95.1 gm MD (Commercial Quantity) along with Rs 3,58,610. They also seized 10 gm of Ganja from another accused Wahid Abdul kadir Sheikh @ Sultan.
After the seizure of drugs and cash, the NCB officials arrested five persons, including Firoz A. Nadiadwala’s wife Shabana Saeed.
The NCB has registered two drugs cases in the wake of the investigations launched by the CBI into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year upon the directive issued by the Supreme Court
Nearly twenty persons –including Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik --- were arrested in connection with a case registered by the NCB on August 28, two days after it registered a case suo moto. It registered a second case after it told the Mumbai court that it wants to "to uproot the drug citadel in Mumbai especially in Bollywood”. Subsequently, Rhea was granted conditional bail by the Bombay High Court in the Sushant death-related drug case on October 7, 2020.
As part of the investigations, the NCB had earlier questioned Bollywood’s prominent actresses Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh.