Known as “Ketamine Queen”, alleged drug dealer Jasveen Sangha is one of the five people who have been charged and arrested for supplying ketamine to the “Friends” actor Matthew Perry. Sangha, 41, is facing nine charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in Perry’s death on October 28, 2023.
The accused, including medical doctors and the actor’s assistant, “took advantage of Mr Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves,” US attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.
Perry, who had publicly discussed his issues with addiction, had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression at the time of his death, according to a report by The Guardian.
Ketamine is an anaesthetic that has been listed as a hallucinogen by the US
Drug Enforcement Administration. It is referred to as a “dissociative anaesthetic hallucinogen” because it creates a feeling of detachment from pain and the environment.
Here is a look at who Jasveen Sangha is and the allegations against her.
Who is Jasveen Sangha?
According to the prosecutors, Sangha has been supplying ketamine from her “stash house” since at least 2019. Estrada called her Los Angeles home a “drug-selling emporium”, where she is alleged to have packaged and distributed drugs.
Media reports suggest that Sangha led a lavish lifestyle which she shared widely on social media.
“Ms Sangha is said to have mixed with celebrities socially as well, with one of her friends telling the Daily Mail she attended the Golden Globes and the Oscars,” according to a report by the BBC.
Less than two weeks after Perry’s death, Sangha, on November 8, 2023, posted photos on her Instagram account in which she was seen enjoying a trip to Japan. In February this year, she posted photos while on a getaway to Mexico.
“Sangha posted pictures sunning herself by a luxurious poolside and overlooking the beach, drinking cocktails. She has also posed for a number of glamorous photoshoots, including one holding a gun which shoots fake dollar bills,” according to a report by The Independent.
What are the allegations against Sangha?
The prosecutors have alleged that Sangha’s distribution of ketamine on October 24, 2023, led to Perry’s death. She is accused of selling 50 vials of the drug to the actor for about $11,000.
When authorities raided her home recently, they found more than 80 vials of ketamine along with thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine, and Xanax.
Besides Perry, Sangha has been linked to another drug-related death. “In August 2019, Sangha allegedly sold ketamine to Cody McLaury, 38, in the hours before he died from an overdose,” the report by The Independent said. Despite McLaury’s death, Sangha continued to sell ketamine from her home.
If she is convicted of all the charges in Perry’s case, Sangha would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to the authorities concerned.
