Drug possession case: Mumbai actor Chrisann Pereira released in UAE

Actor Chrisann Pereira, arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on charges of drug possession and lodged at a jail in Sharjah, has been released by law enforcement authorities there, a senior Mumbai Police official said on Thursday. Two men had allegedly cheated the 27-year-old actor, who is from Mumbai, by planting drugs on her and sending her to Sharjah under the pretext of an ‘audition’ while promising her a role in a Hollywood web series.

Pereira, who acted in Mahesh Bhatt directed Bollywood movie ‘Sadak 2’, was apprehended at the Sharjah airport on April 1 after a small quantity of a drug was found concealed in a memento which one of the accused had given to her to hand it over to someone in the UAE.

After her arrest, the accused – Ravi Bobhate and Anthony Paul – allegedly demanded Rs 80 lakh from her mother to rescue her, the official said. The actor’s mother then approached the Mumbai Police who arrested the duo and booked them for cheating.

The Mumbai Police had sent the case-related documents to the authorities concerned who went through the case details following which Chrisann Pereira was released on Wednesday night, he said. An official communication with the Ministry of External Affairs was underway in this connection, he said.

Pereira is likely to return to Mumbai in a day or two, the official said.