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According to CNN on the 15th, the US prosecutor said on the same day that five people were charged with illegal drug trafficking in the criminal investigation surrounding the death of the famous comedian Matthew Perry in 2023. Perry was the actor who played "Chandler Bing" in the classic American TV series "Friends".

Previously, investigators said that the police cracked an underground illegal drug sales network, and the ketamine (commonly known as K powder) that caused Perry's death was sold through this network.

Matthew Perry, who plays Chandler. Source: Visual China

On August 16, local time, the U.S. Federal Prosecutor's Office stated that the five people who have been indicted include two doctors, Perry's personal assistant and another person who was called the "Queen of Ketamine" by law enforcement personnel. The prosecutor said that these defendants "took advantage of Perry's drug addiction problem... They knew they were doing the wrong thing."

The report said that three of the five defendants have reached a plea agreement with the prosecution. The prosecution said that the other two, Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, were formally indicted on the 14th.

Plasencia is a doctor who has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of tampering with or falsifying documents or records. The doctor has been held in custody awaiting trial on $100,000 bail and has been required to surrender his medical license previously issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which allows him to prescribe controlled substances to patients.

Sanga allegedly ran a "drug sales mall" at home and was charged with conspiracy to sell ketamine, operating a drug-related premises, possession with intent to sell methamphetamine (commonly known as ice), possession with intent to sell ketamine, and five counts of selling ketamine. She pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor argued that considering Sanga's frequent international travel and dual citizenship of the United States and the United Kingdom, she was "a high risk of absconding," and the judge ruled that she would not be granted bail.

Investigators believe Perry "re-addicted" to drugs in the fall of 2023 and that Dr. Plasencia worked with another indicted doctor, Mark Chavez, to provide Perry with the drugs.

Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, administered ketamine to him despite having no medical training. Authorities allege he "administered multiple injections to Perry on October 28, 2023, the day Perry died."

The fifth defendant, Eric Fleming, has admitted that he sold the ketamine that caused Perry's death and that he bought the drugs from Sanga.

Prosecutors said Perry received "approximately 20 vials of ketamine" from September to October 2023 and paid about $55,000. Prosecutors added, "Defendant Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to make money from Perry, writing in a September 2023 chat message, 'I wonder how much this idiot would pay?' He also stated in the chat message that he hoped to be Perry's sole source of supply."

Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54. At that time, he was found floating face down in his bathtub at home. According to the autopsy report, the actor died of an "acute reaction to ketamine" and subsequent drowning.

Anne Milgram, director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said: "Matthew Perry's story began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their positions of trust and treated him as a cash machine, while street dealers sold him ketamine in unmarked vials."