The Enforcement Directorate quizzed the 26-year-old YouTube comedian Elvish Yadav for about eight hours at its headquarters in Lucknow on Thursday.
During interrogation, questions had been put before him with regard to details about rave parties, snake venom supply, their sources, etc.
ED officials interrogated him about the locations where snake venom was served during the rave parties, organisers of such parties, and the contacts related to Elvish Yadav, the controversial YouTuber who emerged as the winner of the reality show *Bigg Boss OTT 2* in 2023.
ED officials also grilled Yadav on his contacts, properties, luxury vehicles, and bank accounts; officials seized his cellphone for review.
During interrogation, the officials scanned all footage, videos, contacts and chats of Yadav's mobile phone. After being grilled for more than eight hours, Yadav stepped out of the ED headquarters.
The probe agency had filed a case against Yadav under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act in May this year in connection with supplying snake venom at rave parties considering the huge amount of money involved in the racket.
The ED action was based on an FIR and charge sheet filed by Gautam Buddh Nagar district police, Noida that arrested Yadav on 17 March.
The arrest was in connection with the probe into the alleged use of snake venom as a party drug at parties allegedly hosted by Yadav.
Yadav has been booked under various sections of NDPS Act, the Wildlife Protection Act, and the Indian Penal Code.
He was first named in an FIR registered at Sector 49 police station in Noida on November 3 last year, based on a complaint filed by animal rights NGO People for Animals (PFA).
The FIR also named five other accused-all snake charmers-who were arrested in November last year and were later bailed out by a local court.
Five persons were arrested from a banquet hall in Noida on November 3. Nine snakes, including five cobras, were rescued from there, while 20 ml suspected snake venom was seized.
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