Who Is Jasveen Sangha, the "Ketamine Queen"? She Was Arrested in Connection to Matthew Perry's Overdose
She allegedly sold the fatal dose to the actor.
Published Aug. 15 2024, 2:30 p.m. ET
![Actor Matthew Perry arrives at the Project A.L.S. LA Benefit hosted by Ben Stiller & Friends at Lucky Strike Bowling Alley on April 21, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/FilmMagic)](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/480x251/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/640x335/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/768x402/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/1024x536/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/1280x670/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/1440x753/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/1600x837/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/8oD4Eb7Cn/2160x1130/who-is-jasveen-sangha-the-ketamine-queen-1723746293954.jpg 2160w)
Federal charges have been brought against five people in the wake of Friends star Matthew Perry's death, months after the actor's fatal ketamine overdose in a hot tub in October 2023.
According to reports, charges were brought against two doctors, the actor's live-in assistant, and two alleged drug dealers, one of whom is apparently known as the "Ketamine Queen."
![the cast of nbc's 'friends' - lisa kudrow, matthew perry, jennifer aniston, david schwimmer, courteney cox, matt leblanc](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/480x252/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/640x335/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/768x402/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/1024x536/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/1280x670/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/1440x754/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/1600x838/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/bnWKTFDIK/2160x1131/friends-cast-1723746050742.jpg 2160w)
Matthew Perry (second from left) with the cast of 'Friends'
Who is Jasveen Sangha, aka the "Ketamine Queen"?
According to officials via a press conference, Jasveen Sangha, aka the "Ketamine Queen," allegedly sold the fatal dose to the actor.
Her home was searched and it reportedly looked like a "drug-selling emporium," with 80 vials of ketamine, thousands of meth pills, coke, Xanax, and other drug paraphernalia.
Martin Estrada, an attorney based in Los Angeles, said at the press conference, "In this investigation, we learned that several years before, in 2019, Defendant Sangha had sold ketamine to another customer; that person died the same day. And a family member of that person sent a message to Defendant Sangha telling her the cause of death was ketamine. Nonetheless, Defendant Sangha continued selling drugs, including ketamine, including the ketamine that ultimately killed Mr. Perry."
An indictment (via ABC News) alleges that while Perry initially bought ketamine from the two doctors, he eventually switched to a cheaper source, which is where the Ketamine Queen comes into the equation. Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, reportedly administered the dose that would ultimately prove fatal for the actor.
According to the DOJ, Sangha, 41, has already been arrested, as has 42-year-old doctor Salvador Plasencia.
Sangha lives in North Hollywood, according to the DOJ.
It appears there are some pictures of her online at an event in December 2022; her name was tagged in some photos at a book signing and cocktail party for Make S#!+ Happen, a publication of portraits by cosmetics icon Max Factor's great-grandson Davis Factor.
Estrada said at the press conference that following "an in depth, wide-ranging investigation," officials were able to reveal a "broad underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others."
"This network included a live-in assistant, various go-betweens, two medical doctors, and a major source of drug supply known as, quote, the ketamine queen," he continued. "We charged five defendants in this matter. These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves."
"They knew what they were doing was wrong; they knew was they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry," Estrada added. "But they did it anyway. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being."
Perry had long struggled with substance abuse. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he spoke of his dependency on alcohol, and how he had become addicted to painkillers following a jet ski accident he sustained while on the set of his 1997 film Fools Rush In.