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.

Jasveen Sangha’s name comes up again and again in the investigation..

“The Ketamine Queen” allegedly supplied the drugs that led to Perry’s death on 28 October 28 2023.

The 41-year-old is accused of selling 50 vials of ketamine to him for about $11,000 (£8,550) and was described as a drug trafficker who knew the ketamine she distributed could be deadly.

Her North Hollywood home was a “drug-selling emporium”, Martin Estrada, the US Attorney for California’s Central District, said during the news conference.

More than 80 vials of ketamine were found there in a search, along with thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine, and Xanax. A handgun was also discovered, he said.

The home, also called the “Sangha Stash House” in the indictment, was where she packaged and distributed drugs, mostly for the rich and famous.

Ms Sangha “only deal[s] with high end and celebs”, according to the indictment,

Before the news conference ended, Mr Estrada was asked how big “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha’s network was.

Estrada simply said Sangha was a “major source of supply for ketamine to others as well as Perry”. He refused to say exactly how many others.

As Perry fell deeper into his final addiction, he wanted more and more ketamine and sought it for lower prices, which led to him to street dealers as well as the more elite providers, authorities said.

Those charged in the case took advantage of him, Mr Estrada said.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Dr Plasencia wrote in one text message discovered by authorities.

In another, he said he wanted to be Perry’s “go-to for drugs”.

The doctor and Ms Sangha quickly pulled in tens of thousands. Perry paid around $2,000 (£1,555) for vials that actually cost about $12 (£9) a piece.

“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” said Estrada.

Perry supposedly purchased 20 vials of ketamine from Dr Plasencia for a total $55,000 (£42,800) from September to October 2023.

Dr Plasencia also allegedly taught Iwamasa, the assistant, how to inject the drug, even though he had learned “that Perry’s ketamine addiction was spiralling out of control”, according to investigators.

He himself had witnessed Perry “freeze up” while administering the drug on one occasion. But authorities said the doctor still provided more ketamine.

Once news broke of Perry’s death, those accused of supplying him with the drugs attempted to hide their actions, investigators said.

Authorities say Ms Sangha sent a message to another suspect telling him to “delete all our messages”.

Two days after Perry’s death, Eric Fleming, one of the co-conspirators, messaged Ms Sangha: “Please call… Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with (Perry) only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler”.

He also asked Ms Sangha, according to court documents, whether ketamine stays “in your system or is it immediately flushed out?”

Authorities said the accused used coded language, calling ketamine “Dr. Pepper”, “bots” or “cans”.

Dr Plasencia allegedly falsified medical records, as well, hoping to make the drugs given to the actor look legitimate.

As they investigated, authorities uncovered that Ms Sangha was tied to another drug overdose death in 2019.

According to court documents, she knew about the dangers of ketamine after selling it to a customer named Cody McLaury, who died within 24 hours of the sale from a drug overdose.

A family member of McLaury texted her saying: “The ketamine you sold my brother killed him. It’s listed as the cause of death.”

Days later, investigators said, Ms Sangha searched on Google: “Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death?”

Authorities said Ms Sangha will face charges in that case, too.

Perry’s live-in assistant, Iwamasa, was the person who found the actor dead last year.

Investigators said he was also the person who injected Perry with the ketamine that led to his death.

Iwamasa had never received medical training and “knew little, if anything” about administering controlled substances, according to court documents.

In the four days leading up to and including Perry’s death, prosecutors said Iwamasa administered more than 20 shots of ketamine to Perry, three of those on the day he died.

He was charged in July with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Prosecutors said he has since pled guilty to the charge.

Ketamine is supposed to be administered only by a physician, investigators said, and patients who have taken the drug should be monitored by a professional because of its possible harmful effects.

On 10 October, weeks before Perry’s death, Dr Plasencia bought 10 vials of ketamine from accused co-conspirator Dr Mark Chavez, which he allegedly intended to sell to Perry.

Dr Plasencia then met Perry and Iwamasa in a public parking lot where Plasencia injected Perry while inside a vehicle.

Two days later, the doctor injected Perry with a large dose at the actor’s home that caused him to “freeze up” and his blood pressure to spike.

Dr Plasencia told Iwamasa something to the effect of: “Let’s not do that again.”

But he allegedly still left additional vials with Iwamasa for Perry.

Perry was open about his addictions. His 2022 memoir described decades of struggling with alcohol and drugs. He wrote about his co-star Jennifer Anniston confronting him over smelling alcohol on his breath and the millions he’d spent trying to remain sober.

He said that he hoped his openness would help those struggling with addictions. The homepage for the Matthew Perry Foundation, set up after his death, has his quote: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

The head of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Anne Milgram, said on Thursday that the arrests and the sharing of grim details of the high-profile case are likely to help others and prevent deaths – exactly as Perry wanted.