In Sandalwood drug probe, Vivek Oberoi's home raided by CCB searching for Aditya Alva

The Bangalore CCB (Central Crime Branch) police raided Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi's home in Mumbai in pursuit of his brother-in-law Aditya Alva, who is one of the prime accused in the drug racket exposed by Kannada filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh in August earlier this year. As per sources, CCB officials obtained a court warrant to search Vivek Oberoi's house in Mumbai to check if Alva is hiding at his (Alva's) sister Priyanka's house.

Read | Sandalwood Drug Racket Live Updates: Hunt for Aditya Alva on; CCB nabs another peddler

Alva, who is the son of ex-JD(S) minister late Jeevaraj Alva and brother-in-law of actor Vivek Oberoi, is one of the prime accused in the drug case. He has been absconding since September 4, as per sources. Apart from Alva, Shivaprakash Chuppi, and Sheik Faazil - the prime accused in the case are reportedly absconding. As of date, 12 people have been arrested including actors Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani. 

Read | Sandalwood drug probe: Bengaluru CCB raids Ricky Rai - alleged aide of Aditya Alva

What is the Sandalwood drug racket?

The alleged drug racket prevalent in the Kannada film industry - 'Sandalwood' - came to light when deceased journalist Gauri Lankesh's brother - Indrajit Lankesh - revealed the involvement of certain actors in the drug menace. He named two actresses who were allegedly not being interrogated due to the supposed political connections. Police sources claim that drugs being supplied through the ‘dark net’ were detected while raiding the places belonging to a few drug peddlers.

Read | CCB raids Aditya Alva's premises in Bengaluru as Sandalwood drug nexus crackdown widens

NCB conducted raids in Bengaluru and seized drugs like LSD, MDMA, ecstasy, cannabis worth Rs 1.25 crore which were being supplied to local youth. The CCB has expanded its probe into the drug racket as it summoned many people and conducted several arrests so far. The CCB's probe comes at a time when the NCB is also probing the purported Bollywood drug nexus which has come to light amid the Sushant Singh Rajput death probe.

Read | Sandalwood drug racket: CCB hunts for actor Aditya Alva - absconding since Sept 4