ED grills drug case key accused Calvin Mascarenhas again

HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned key accused Calvin Mascarenhas for six hours on supply of drugs to

Tollywood

celebrities in the case related to the 2017 drug scandal. ED grilled Mascarenhas again as it could not find corroborative evidence for his earlier statements.

Another Tollywood actor Nandu, who appeared before the ED on Tuesday as he had requested for pre-ponement, was quizzed for about eight hours. Actor Rana Daggubati is scheduled to appear before ED on Wednesday. Till now, Charmee Kaur, Rakul Preet Singh and director Puri Jagannath have appeared before the ED.

ED has been quizzing Tollywood stars after registering an enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the case. Earlier, the Telangana excise enforcement special investigation team (SIT) had filed chargesheets against traffickers in the 2017 drugs case, but no film star was booked due to lack of evidence.

Mascarenhas, a musician, was arrested by

Hyderabad Task Force

police too. He was accused of selling drugs to film stars, software engineers and students. Forensic analysis of his mobile phone revealed several contact details of Tollywood celebrities.

The excise SIT had claimed that Mascarenhas used human couriers to deliver the drugs. The excise officials also found LSD blots and MDMA with him. He was arrested along with Mohammed Abdul Wahed and Mohammed Abdul Quddus in 2017.

Another Tollywood actor Nandu, who appeared before the ED on Tuesday, was quizzed for about eight hours. Rana Daggubati is scheduled to appear before ED today