Hyderabad: Main accused turns approver in drugs case

Hyderabad: Sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who are investigating the money laundering and drugs case allegedly involving several Telugu film celebrities hit a jackpot, as the main accused, Kelvin Mascarane, turned approver. The agency had sent notices to Kelvin six months back. Film actors were summoned based on his statements.

According to reports, Kelvin was the kingpin in the drugs case being investigated by the ED. So far, he was interrogated 12 times by the sleuths. Initially he did not cooperate with officials. With the continuous questioning, he broke down and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

He had got huge amounts of money transferred into his bank account by the summoned Telugu film personalities, due to which noose around his neck tightened. When he was informed about the hard evidence obtained by authorities, he could not find a way to escape from the radar. Rather he agreed to cooperate with the agency to investigate the case further. Also, three other foreigners are believed to have turned themselves in as approvers in the case, sources indicate. Meanwhile, the ED has frozen the bank accounts of Kelvin. The ED officials interrogated director Puri Jagannadh for more than 10 hours on Tuesday. Besides Puri Jagannadh, stars Rakul Preet Singh, Navdeep, Mumaith Khan, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, and others connected to Tollywood were summoned to appear before the ED between August 31 and September 22.

The Tollywood drugs case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Telangana Excise and Prohibition department. But as there was no progress, the case was taken up by the ED. The SIT which questioned some suspects earlier is summoning them now.