Matthew Perry death investigation: An underground drug network

When ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home last year, it seemed like it could have just been an accident.

He’d been treating his depression with ketamine infusion therapy, wasn’t found with drug paraphernalia or anything suggesting foul play, and appeared to have drowned. He’d spent decades fighting addiction, but the actor had said he was finally sober.

As the world mourned the passing of the actor, known globally for playing Chandler Bing on ‘Friends,’ a coroner found something curious: High levels of ketamine in his blood – an amount in the range used for general aesthesia during surgery.

It should not have still been in his system since his last therapy appointment more than a week prior.

A nearly year-long investigation that followed uncovered a vast underground ketamine dealing network, cover-up attempts and another death.

It led to five arrests – including medical doctors, Perry’s assistant and a dealer who was known locally as “The Ketamine Queen”.

Federal and local authorities walked through details of the probe during a news conference on Thursday.

The five suspects face a total of 23 counts in Perry’s death. His live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, has pled guilty to one count, and two others – Eric Fleming and Dr Mark Chavez – have also pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully.

Most of the charges were given to Dr Salvador Plasencia, who, along with being accused of supplying ketamine to Perry, is charged with falsifying records, and Jasveen Sangha, who faces nine counts and is known as “The Ketamine Queen” due to her alleged drug supply network.

More information could be uncovered in coming weeks and months, as authorities noted their investigation is not over.