Tollywood drugs case: Actor Mumaith Khan appears before ED for questioning

Film actor Mumaith Khan on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of an ongoing probe in a money laundering case in connection with a high-end drugs racket that was busted in Hyderabad in July 2017.

Ms. Khan, who is well-known for her smaller roles in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil films, was summoned by the central agency for allegedly procuring and consuming ‘Class A’ narcotic substances, including LSD and MDMA, from Kelvin Mascarenhas, a city-based musician and prime accused in the drugs racket, which had a clientele of over 1,000 customers, including students of city-based high-end schools and colleges, Tollywood personalities, and employees of several multinational companies in Hyderabad.

She is the eight person from the film industry to appear before the ED in the past two weeks. The agency had summoned over ten Tollywood personalities and a couple of their staff for questioning in the case.

“Ms. Khan allegedly purchased drugs from Kelvin and we got her bank statements as evidence. She reportedly transferred money into Kelvin’s account on multiple occasions,” an officer said.

Since August 31, the agency has grilled Baahubali actor Rana Daggubati, Rakul Preet Singh, Ravi Teja, noted filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and his business partner and actor Charmee Kaur in connection with the drugs and money laundering case.

After the racket was busted in July 2017, which was followed by the arrest of several people, including an American, a South African and a Netherlands national, several Tollywood celebrities were questioned by Telangana’s Prohibition and Excise department sleuths.