NCB officials bust rave party on cruise ship off Mumbai coast, Bollywood star's son among those detained

Mumbai, October 3, 2021

In what is said to be a first-of-its-kind operation, officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) swooped on a rave party being held on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and detained around a dozen persons, including the son of a leading Bollywood actor.

The action -- which has shocked Mumbaikars and rattled the rich crowds -- started on Saturday afternoon, is still continuing with the process of registering the first information report (FIR) underway.

NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who led the raid along with a team of officials, declined to comment on the developments as the investigations are underway.

Officials said that some days back, they had received a tip-off on the proposed rave party that was planned aboard a cruise ship bound on a Mumbai-Goa voyage, setting sail from the International Cruise Terminal, Mumbai.

To avoid detection, the NCB sleuths booked themselves on that cruise as ordinary passengers and they soon found some of their co-passengers consuming drugs.

Then the NCB launched its full-scale raid, detained at least a dozen passengers, and seized various quantities of different drugs.

The ship was ordered to turn and sail back to the ICT at Ballard Pier where the detained passengers were offloaded along with their baggage.

A comprehensive search of their belongings as also the cruise ship is being carried out, while the detainees were sent for a medical examination.

IANS