Illicit drug world in LA revealed after ketamine arrests in Matthew Perry’s death
Five arrests over Matthew Perry’s overdose death this week expose how the drug trade in Hollywood is alive, thriving and as deadly as ever.
Two of those charged in the “Friends” star’s death are medical doctors, while another, Jasveen Sangha, is referred to in her indictment as ‘The Ketamine Queen’, who only dealt to “high-end” people and “celebs”.
Sangha used her home in North Hollywood, Calif. to “store, package and distribute narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine,” according to the Department of Justice indictment, which also accuses her of supplying the drugs which killed Perry.
Legal sources believe Sangha — who was arrested Thursday and is also expected to face charges over a 2019 drug-related death — may hold the key to exposing just who is dealing and buying in Hollywood, especially if she takes a plea deal and flips on customers and her suppliers.
The 41-year-old pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges against her at a Downtown Los Angeles court, where she was ordered to be held in jail.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Page Six, “There is overwhelming evidence against her. She’s in a world of hurt right now….she could potentially get life in prison.”
“She has two issues,” he added, “One, she’s now linked to two drugs related deaths, and two, she was (allegedly) dealing in methamphetamine.”
This means, Rahmani said, although Sangha is at serious risk of going to prison, she has “a lot of reasons to cooperate in order to reduce her sentence.”
“She may name anyone connected to her, anyone who supplied to her or she supplied to,” he added. “Hollywood celebrities should be quaking in their boots…anyone who has anything to do with Jasveen Sangha should be really concerned right now.”
Also helping authorities with their investigation is Brooke Mueller, the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen, who has been in and out of rehab for years, where she met both Sangha and Perry, according to TMZ. Mueller is not under suspicion of wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes.
Perry — who was found dead aged 54 in his hot tub last October from a ketamine overdose — had live-in help who had tried to help him keep clean, including his former friend and sober coach Morgan Moses.
However, he used “hook-ups” to deliver illicit drugs to his home, according to reports.
“He would meet girls on dating apps and have them come over. There was a slew of 21 to 25-year-olds that he would meet on Raya. They would bring drugs with them,” a source told the Daily Mail back in January.
“He would hang out with them and then it would be: ‘Can you bring me something?’ He could persuade people that it would not be doing anything wrong.”
Perry also had his closest assistant, Kenny Iwamasa – who was also charged this week – fetch his drugs and administer them.
In a DoJ release announcing his guilty plea, it emerged this week Iwamasa had shot Perry up three times on the day he died, including the fatal dose which left him slumped lifelessly in his hot tub.
A Hollywood insider described how power players and celebrities also hire prostitutes to bring them drugs.
One such celeb was Grammy-nominated rapper Mac Miller, who died in September 2018 aged 26 from an overdose at his Studio City home.
Heidi Fleiss, the notorious Hollywood ex-madam, told us, “Mac Miller was apparently at the studio and he wanted opiates, so he called someone but they didn’t show up. “Then he was told that a girl could come with the drugs, but she’s $1,500 an hour. He didn’t even want the hooker, but she came with the drugs. So he took the hooker as well.”
She said of Ariana Grande’s ex, “It’s like when you order a steak and get potatoes on the side. You’re going to eat the side dish, but what you really wanted was the steak … It’s a little bit like the way I did things, but in my version, the girls came before the drugs.”
Bob Forrest, an LA-addition specialist who has appeared on “Celebrity Rehab” alongside Drew Pinsky, told Page Six there are top-secret drug rings used by stars like Tom Petty, who died from an accidental overdose aged 66 in January 2013 after mixing a variety of medications.
His family blamed fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, for his overdose.
“Nowadays, it’s just text messages,” Forrest said, “In the case of Tom Petty, the drugs were just delivered to his mailbox. He didn’t even have to see anybody. He would text, he would Venmo money and drugs would be delivered to his mailbox.
He said that celebs also often meet other addicts in clubs and at parties.
“They’re doing drugs, you’re doing drugs, they say, ‘Hey, let me introduce you to the guy I get it from.’ Then it’s just a never-ending trail of connectivity,” Forrest added.
A close friend of Perry, who worked with him for many years, added, “It’s the issue of the Doctor Feelgoods who will provide whatever the celebrity wants, like with Anna Nicole Smith.”
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich was convicted in 2010 on two counts of conspiring to obtain prescriptions under a false name for the former Playboy model, who died in 2007 of an accidental overdose, aged 39. The conviction was thrown out by the trial judge but reinstated as a misdemeanor in 2015 after prosecutors appealed
The convictions were thrown out by the trial judge but reinstated after prosecutors appealed.
A former drug dealer to the stars told us, “There are so many Los Angeles doctors who will do anything, including lie, for celebrities. And I think Matthew Perry was an expert at identifying those doctors.
“You just pay cash, then you go down to the pharmacy and you get methadone, Valium, Xanax, whatever you want. It’s only for wealthy people.”
Perry was getting ketamine transfusions legally from doctors in the LA area, but as his taste for the drug grew, he started illegally sourcing doses.
Describing the deals, prosecutors claim Iwamasa reached out to one of Perry’s acquaintances, Eric Fleming, who then contacted Sangha, who feds claim had been dealing out of her house for around five years.
On October 11, Sangha texted Fleming on the Signal encrypted messaging app about her supply of ketamine and offered a sample for Perry to try, saying it was “amazing,” according to the indictment.
Fleming then allegedly sent a screenshot of Sangha’s message to Iwamasa.
“(J)ust got this from my person. She only deal(s) with high end and celebs,” he wrote. “If it were not great stuff she’d lose her business.”
Iwamasa purchased 25 vials of ketamine from Fleming and Sangha on October 14, prosecutors alleged. Just over a week later, on October. 23, Iwamasa paid $6,000 for additional ketamine.
Sangha said her ketamine source, whom she described as a “master chef” and “scientist,” would make another supply of additional ketamine available on October 24, according to the indictment.
“Users knew that they could always go to [Sangha] for ketamine,” Paul Samson, a recovered addict who is a co-creator of DNA4Addiction, which tests for genetic predispositions to opioid addiction, told Page Six.
“Based on what I saw on the news, I can tell you that the quantity of liquid ketamine that she had would be difficult [for a dealer] to get. Addicts love it. It is pharmaceutical grade and would need to come from a doctor. It is valued by users.”
In the week before his death, Iwamasa was injecting Perry with at least six shots of ketamine per day, until his death on October 28, according to prosecutors.
After reading news reports about Perry’s death, Sangha texted Fleming: “Delete all of our messages,” according to the indictment.
Alongside Sangha, Fleming and Iwasama, Dr. Salvador Plascencia, a licensed physician, and Dr. Mark Chavez were also charged. They are alleged to have supplied Perry with ketamine separately from Sangha’s scheme.
Chavez has pleaded guilty, Plascencia has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on $100,000 bond, according to NBC.
US Attorney Martin Estrada claimed they all took advantage of the actor’s addiction and tried to “cover up” their role following his death.
Perry’s close friend told Page Six, “I believe that Matthew truly wanted to stay sober.
“People who were close to Matthew know that the ketamine was responsible for causing his death and we’re very relieved that the people responsible will now be held accountable.
“It won’t bring him back, but at least there’s some recourse.”
