<p>The investigations of the death of Sushant Singh Rajput have one again brought the Bollywood-drug nexus to the fore.</p>.<p>Cocaine, marijuana, heroin, methylenedioxy-methamphetamine or MDMA, molly, ecstasy, designer drugs, mandrax, ketamine, mephedrone or meow meow – there have been several reports of substance abuse by Bollywood personalities.</p>.<p>Whether it is the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police, the Narcotics Control Bureau (DRI), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and Customs - several people from the film industry have landed in traps.</p>.<p>“Bollywood and drugs connection is not something new…substance abuse has been there in the industry for long….if we look at the latest trend, people start with charas, ganga marijuana, switch over to things like synthetic drugs and then heroin, cocaine and fentanyl,” a top official from the Intelligence department said.<br /><br /><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/sushant-singh-rajput-case-kangana-says-ready-to-help-ncb-878449.html" target="_blank">Sushant Singh Rajput case: Kangana says ready to help NCB</a></strong></p>.<p>“The category of party drugs meow meow, ecstasy, MDMA crystals is commonly used,” sources said.</p>.<p>Many Bollywood personalities have been associated with drug use and abuse.</p>.<p>Sanjay Dutt, now 61, and fighting lung cancer, had been a drug abuser – he underwent rehab in the United States in the early eighties. However, now he campaigns to make a drug-free society. “Having been a victim of drug abuse myself, I feel responsible to do my bit in spreading awareness about this menace,” he had said on one occassion.</p>.<p>Actor Mamta Kulkarni and her husband Vicky Goswami, who are based in Africa, came under the scanner of the US Drug Enforcement Administration – and a team had also visited Mumbai as part of the investigations. It is to be mentioned that in 2014, Mamta, along with her husband was detained by Kenya police on the charges of drug trafficking in Kenya. Goswani had earlier been imprisoned in Dubai for drug-related offences, but was later released on grounds of good conduct. Goswami was jailed in 1997 for trafficking about 11.5 tonnes of Mandrax and was sentenced to 25 years of life imprisonment in UAE. He is now out on bail.</p>.<p>In May 2001, Fardeen Khan was arrested from the Juhu area for possession of cocaine from a dealer who allegedly sold it to him. The case proceeded before a special NDPS court. However, the court granted him immunity from prosecution in a case involving narcotics - nearly 11 years after he was caught by the NCB.</p>.<p>Last year, a video of a party hosted by Karan Johar that was attended by Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Shahid Kapoor and Varun Dhawan went viral and it was alleged that they were abusing drugs. However, they have denied the allegation after Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa put out a video.</p>
<p>The investigations of the death of Sushant Singh Rajput have one again brought the Bollywood-drug nexus to the fore.</p>.<p>Cocaine, marijuana, heroin, methylenedioxy-methamphetamine or MDMA, molly, ecstasy, designer drugs, mandrax, ketamine, mephedrone or meow meow – there have been several reports of substance abuse by Bollywood personalities.</p>.<p>Whether it is the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police, the Narcotics Control Bureau (DRI), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and Customs - several people from the film industry have landed in traps.</p>.<p>“Bollywood and drugs connection is not something new…substance abuse has been there in the industry for long….if we look at the latest trend, people start with charas, ganga marijuana, switch over to things like synthetic drugs and then heroin, cocaine and fentanyl,” a top official from the Intelligence department said.<br /><br /><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/sushant-singh-rajput-case-kangana-says-ready-to-help-ncb-878449.html" target="_blank">Sushant Singh Rajput case: Kangana says ready to help NCB</a></strong></p>.<p>“The category of party drugs meow meow, ecstasy, MDMA crystals is commonly used,” sources said.</p>.<p>Many Bollywood personalities have been associated with drug use and abuse.</p>.<p>Sanjay Dutt, now 61, and fighting lung cancer, had been a drug abuser – he underwent rehab in the United States in the early eighties. However, now he campaigns to make a drug-free society. “Having been a victim of drug abuse myself, I feel responsible to do my bit in spreading awareness about this menace,” he had said on one occassion.</p>.<p>Actor Mamta Kulkarni and her husband Vicky Goswami, who are based in Africa, came under the scanner of the US Drug Enforcement Administration – and a team had also visited Mumbai as part of the investigations. It is to be mentioned that in 2014, Mamta, along with her husband was detained by Kenya police on the charges of drug trafficking in Kenya. Goswani had earlier been imprisoned in Dubai for drug-related offences, but was later released on grounds of good conduct. Goswami was jailed in 1997 for trafficking about 11.5 tonnes of Mandrax and was sentenced to 25 years of life imprisonment in UAE. He is now out on bail.</p>.<p>In May 2001, Fardeen Khan was arrested from the Juhu area for possession of cocaine from a dealer who allegedly sold it to him. The case proceeded before a special NDPS court. However, the court granted him immunity from prosecution in a case involving narcotics - nearly 11 years after he was caught by the NCB.</p>.<p>Last year, a video of a party hosted by Karan Johar that was attended by Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Shahid Kapoor and Varun Dhawan went viral and it was alleged that they were abusing drugs. However, they have denied the allegation after Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa put out a video.</p>
