Investigators found 80 vials of ketamine, cocaine, vials of Xanax and other illegally obtained medications during a search of his home.
France Télévisions – Culture Editorial
Published on 08/17/2024 1:28 p.m.
Reading time: 3 min
Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed “the queen of ketamine” on vacation in Tokyo in November 2023. She is being prosecuted for the death of actor Matthew Perry. (INSTAGRAM / JASVEEN SANGHA)
In Hollywood, she was known as the “Queen of Ketamine,” according to the prosecution. But when Jasveen Sangha appeared in court for selling the bottle of psychotropic drug that killed “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, she was anything but majestic.
The 41-year-old British-American sports a worn Nirvana sweater, baggy jogging pants and dyed purple hair on Thursday, August 15, in front of the Los Angeles courthouse. The prosecution portrays her as a jet-setter, regularly out and about to satisfy her party-girl urges. If prosecutors can prove that she supplied the star of Friendsshe could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Found unconscious in his jacuzzi in October 2023, Matthew Perry died of an overdose of ketamine. An anesthetic that can help against depression, but which can also be diverted for stimulating or euphoric purposes.
In addition to Jasveen Sangha, four people are being prosecuted: Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, an intermediary and two doctors accused of having consciously exploited his addiction by calling him a “cretin“, according to text message exchanges. But among the accused, it is the profile of this alleged dealer who reveals the dark side of Hollywood glamour.
During a search of his home, investigators found 80 vials of ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, vials of Xanax and other illegally obtained drugs.
When it comes to ketamine, she boasts that she can “honor any order“, according to the investigation, thanks to his relations with a “chef” and one “scientist“. “She only handles high-end and celebrities“, wrote the prosecuted intermediary to Matthew Perry’s personal assistant.”If it wasn’t good stuff, she’d lose her customers.“
On her website, she appears at a party with actor Charlie Sheen (Wall Street, Platoon), a celebrity whose addiction problems are widely documented. The dealer also ran a website dedicated to the history of the mafia, where she professes her passion for films like The Godfather et Scarface.
Her Instagram account shows her flashy travels, sometimes by private jet. She struts around in Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, Louis Vuitton heels and Chanel clothes, occasionally nibbling on a plate of caviar.
This bling-bling lifestyle was apparently financed by a poverty business, based on the addiction of drug addicts with deep pockets, like Matthew Perry. According to the investigation, she sold dozens of doses of ketamine to the star, in unmarked bottles. She also offered him a sample so that he could test the merchandise before buying. And the last batch she provided him with came with a little gift: ketamine lollipops.
According to the prosecution, the dealer immediately tried to cover up after the death of the star of Friends. “Delete all our messages” she orders her intermediary. Two weeks later, she is in Tokyo, posting photos of herself smiling in a kimono on social media.
Jasveen Sangha has taken about a dozen foreign trips since the actor’s death, including to Mexico and the Caribbean, prosecutors said.
This prompted the judge who heard her plead not guilty on Thursday to keep the dual national in detention until her trial, to prevent any risk of her fleeing.
Jasveen Sangha in a story published on her Instagram account, during a trip to Mexico in February 2024. (INSTAGRAM / JASVEEN SANGHA)
She is scheduled to go to trial in October, as is the other main defendant in the case, Salvador Plasencia, a doctor suspected of injecting and selling ketamine to Matthew Perry. He has also pleaded not guilty. The other three defendants have agreed to plead guilty and face sentences of up to 10 or 25 years in prison.
