Alappuzha: Actor Shine Tom Chacko was shifted to a de-addiction centre late on Monday following a ten and a half hour interrogation in connection with the hybrid ganja case.

The actor was moved to a facility in Thodupuzha after he admitted to struggling with narcotic addiction and sought assistance to break free from it. Meanwhile, the Excise Department permitted actor Sreenath Bhasi and model K Saumya to leave following prolonged questioning.

All three were summoned to the office of the Excise Deputy Commissioner in Alappuzha and interrogated based on statements given by Thaslima Sulthana (alias Christina, 43), the prime accused in the hybrid ganja trafficking case. Thaslima was apprehended earlier this month along with an accomplice from a resort in Alappuzha, where they were caught with a consignment of hybrid ganja. During questioning, she reportedly admitted to supplying hybrid ganja to contacts in the film industry, with her accomplice assisting in executing the deals.

Statements given by the two actors and the model to the Excise officers suggested that their financial transactions with Thaslima were not linked to narcotic trading.

New team to prob case against Filmmakers

Meanwhile, the Excise Department has constituted a new team to investigate the seizure of hybrid ganja from filmmakers Khalid Rehman and Ashraf Hamsa. The probe will now be led by Assistant Excise Commissioner (Enforcement) FS Suresh.

As part of the investigation, cinematographer and filmmaker Sameer Thahir, the owner of the apartment where the filmmakers gathered to consume the substance, will soon be summoned for questioning. Officials stated that they have secured clear information about those who supplied the drugs to the filmmakers and said that they would soon be taken into custody.