Interestingly, Sameer Wankhede had previously crossed paths with Shah Rukh Khan in 2001 and questioned him at the airport. A decade ago, SRK was returning to India from a holiday in London and carried with him about 20 bags. The actor’s family was allowed to go but Shah Rukh Khan was reportedly grilled for hours by a team led by then deputy collector, customs, Sameer Wankhede. Shah Rukh Khan had to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakhs for carrying over-the-limit luggage and for duty.
Soon after Aryan Khan’s arrest, there were reports that the investigating agency was targeting Shah Rukh Khan. Refuting the allegations, Sameer Wankhede had told ETimes, “We are not targeting anyone at all. We have nothing against him. We have arrested more than 300 people in the last 10 months. Out of those, at the most, there would be about 4 to 5 known people. How can you say that we are targeting anyone? Most of those arrested in the last one year are hard-core, drug related criminals.”
Sameer Wankhede led the drugs bust on a cruise ship on October 2 and eight people were arrested on October 3, including Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan. Currently, Aryan and others are lodged at the Arthur Road jail.
