Panaji, Sep 25 Agisilaos Demetriades, the brother of Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal's girlfriend, has been arrested for the third time in two years for possession of drugs, a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official said on Saturday.
Rampal in a statement issued from London, where he is currently on a film shoot, said that he was "shocked and taken aback" at the development, but added that his name is being dragged into controversy.
According to NCB zonal director for Mumbai and Goa, Sameer Wankhede, Demetriades is a South African national and is linked to an FIR filed by the agency in connection with the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.
"In crime No. 16, related to the Sushant Singh Rajput case, we had arrested a South African national Agisilaos Demetriades. We arrested him once more in a cocaine case for the second time. Now we have arrested him again. We have found a small quantity of charas," Wankhede said.
The arrest was made in Goa and Demetriades is currently in judicial remand for 14 days, Wankhede said.
The NCB official said that three other persons were also arrested in two other raids conducted by the agency during its series of raids in Goa over the last three days.
"We have conducted three raids in the last three days and seized commercial quantities of LSD and MDMA. We have raided a hotel, Apollo bar, whose owner is wanted and on the run. We have arrested two of his peddlers. A youngster from Ulhasnagar, who was peddling drugs in Goa, has also been arrested," Wankhade said.
Reacting to the development, Rampal said: "As far as my direct family and me are concerned, we are law-abiding citizens. And while the incident involves a person who is a relative of my partner, I have no other connection or relationship other than that with this person.
"I have faith in our legal system and whoever is on the wrong side of the law should be treated as the judiciary deems fit. My trust is in the system in these matters. Let the law take its course and kindly refrain from attaching my partner's and my name to something we have nothing to do with."
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