The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Tamil actors K Srikant and Krishna Kumar for questioning next week in connection with an alleged cocaine case, officials said on Friday.
The Chennai zonal office of the ED has asked the actors to appear before investigators on Monday and Tuesday as part of its ongoing probe into alleged money laundering and drug trafficking networks linked to recent cocaine seizures in the city, says ANI.
While Srikanth has been summoned by the zonal office of ED on October 27, Kumar has been asked to appear before the agency on October 28, as per PTI report.
According to officials privy to the development, both the actors have been asked to record their statements in connection with the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The actors got conditional bail from Madras HC in July
The actors, along with a few others were arrested by police but got conditional bail from the Madras High Court in July, in a case registered against them by the Greater Chennai City Police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985. They were granted bail as the court noted they were arrested only for allegedly procuring cocaine for personal use, with no contraband recovered from either actor.
About the case
On June 18, the Greater Chennai City Police registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after its Anti-Narcotics Intelligence Unit (ANIU) arrested a Ghana national, John, who allegedly supplied cocaine to another accused, Pradeep Kumar.
Following this, actors K Srikant and Krishna Kumar, along with Jawahar and Prasanth, were taken into custody. While John has been granted bail, Pradeep, Jawahar, and Prasanth remain in jail.
According to PTI, the police also arrested a former AIADMK functionary, T Prasad, in this case, who reportedly supplied cocaine to Srikanth and some others.