11 December,2017 04:00 PM IST | Mumbai | Asif Rizvi and Anurag Kamble
ANC raids plush apartment of Bakul Chandriya, accused of supplying drugs to the Juhu Oakwood rave party in 2012, finds stash of narcotics worth lakhs
City's well-known 'movie man' has been arrested by the city police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) after a raid at his Khar residence on December 8, during which a substantial stash of drugs was recovered from his possession - 106 g of cocaine and 80 LSD papers. The arrested entrepreneur is Bakul Chandriya, whose family owns the Sarvodaya Video Centre on BR Ambedkar Road in Khar West, frequented by locals and celebrities alike for the latest movie DVDs and CDs. He had earlier been held in 2012 in the Juhu Oakwood rave party bust, where several celebrities and high-profile personalities had been in attendance and were caught. Then, he had been found in possession of 4 g of cocaine, but he had claimed that he had no involvement in the party.
Tip-off effect
The raid on Chandriya's home was conducted based on a tip-off a constable had got - cops had information that Chandriya was allegedly also in the business of supplying cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and MDMA among other drugs. The information was relayed to the top brass, which gave the green signal to carry out the raid that started on December 8 night and went on till the wee hours.
The police questioned Chandriya about the source of the recovered drugs. On not getting satisfactory answers from him, they arrested him under sections of the NDPS Act, 1985. Besides the 106 g of cocaine and 80 LSD papers, the police also seized two mobile phones, with the entire booty being valued around '14.56 lakh. A source said, "The police swooped down on him after receiving information that Chandriya was supplying narcotics in celebrity parties and other events. They are now trying to get information about his clients."
Seniorspeak
The watchman of the building where Chandriya's stays said, "The police came to his house when he was at home. I don't know the reason they came for." Shivdeep Lande, DCP (ANC), said, "We have seized cocaine and LSD papers from the accused. Worth of the total property seized is around '14.56 lakh. The accused was produced in the holiday court today, which sent him to police custody till December 16. We are yet to get information on his customers and suppliers."
