Abu Dhabi: Bollywood actress Chrisann Pereira, who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on charges of drug smuggling, has been cleared by the Sharjah court.
In an Instagram post, Chrisann’s brother Kevin Pereira wrote, “Chrisann has completed the legal process and the authorities have cleared her from the case.”
“She will be returning to India within the next 5 days,” Kevin added.
Media reports said the airport security camera footage worked in her favor as she was seen returning to the officers after crossing customs and claiming to have received a package but was arrested after drugs were found inside it at Sharjah airport.
Pereira, 27, was arrested by the police upon her arrival at Sharjah airport on April 1 after authorities found drugs hidden in a trophy she was carrying.
She was held for 25 days in Sharjah Central Prison before being released on bail on April 28, on the condition that prosecutors keep her passport until investigations are completed.
Pereira was allegedly tricked by two men into traveling to the UAE for an audition for a ‘Hollywood’ web series being filmed in Dubai.
She was tricked into carrying the trophy with her to Sharjah minutes before the flight from Mumbai to took off.
On April 24, the Crime Branch registered a case and the main accused, 35-year-old Anthony Paul, a baker in Borivali, and his associate 34-year-old Rajesh Bubhate alias Ravi, a banker, were arrested.
They have confessed to handing three persons the award trophies with drugs concealed in them and two others with drugs-laced cakes before they flew to Dubai, ostensibly as a vendetta against the Pereira family.
While two, including Pereira, unwittingly walked into the trap, three others managed to evade the authorities in Sharjah.
Paul, said to be the brain behind the revenge con, apparently nursed an old grudge against the Pereira family, especially Premila (Chrisann’s mother), and even got into fisticuffs with her son Kevin.
The police have found that Paul had used the same modus operandi with some other aspiring actors, assuring them of plum roles in global web series. One target of Paul’s had declined to carry the trophy, which Pereira later agreed to take with her.
