UAE: Actress Chrisann Pereira arrested on drug charges released on bail

Abu Dhabi: Bollywood actress Chrisann Pereira, who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on charges of drug-smuggling case, has been reportedly released from Sharjah Central Jail on bail, her brother Kevin Pereira confirms.

In a Instagram story on Thursday, Chrisann’s brother Kevin Pereira wrote,” While Chrisann is set free, we still don’t have an exact date or how long it take for the legal process, signing of papers etc for her to be back on Indian soil.”

27-year-old actress was detained at Sharjah Airport on Saturday, April 1 after authorities found drugs hidden in a trophy she was carrying.

Chrisann Pereira dug case

As per media reports, Chrisann was allegedly tricked by two men into traveling to the UAE to audition for a ‘Hollywood’ web series being filmed in Dubai.

She was asked to hold the award trophy minutes before the flight from Mumbai to Sharjah took off.

Her distraught family in Mumbai had told IANS on Tuesday that Chrisann is innocent and they have planned to appeal to the PM and MEA for help to secure her early release.

On April 24, the Crime Branch registered a case and the main accused in the case, 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 vendetta against the Pereira family.

While two, including Chrisann, 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 wannabe actors, assuring them of plum roles in global webseries, though one person declined to carry the trophy, which Chrisann later agreed to take with her.

Chrisann Pereira recounts her prison life in Sharjah

On Thursday, Kevin Pereira took to Instagram and shared a letter of Chrisann recounted the harrowing time she went through.

“Dear Warriors, It took me three weeks and five days to find pen and paper in jail. After I washed my hair with Tide and made coffee using toilet water, I watched Bollywood movies, sometimes with tears in my eyes knowing my ambition brought me here. I sometimes smile at our culture, our movies and the familiar faces on TV. I feel proud to be an Indian and belong to the Indian film industry,” the letter read.

The actress thanked her family, friends, the police, churches, the media and everyone who believed in her innocence for giving her hope.

“You are the real warriors while I am just a pawn in this dirty game played by these ‘Mansters’. I am forever grateful to everyone who tweeted and reshared my story to arrest the real criminals facilitating international organised crime. We are a great powerful nation and I cannot wait to return home,” she said in the letter.

“Thank you for saving my life and the lives of other innocent people who fell prey to this scam. May justice always prevail,” she concluded.