How a British heiress became the ketamine queen

Perry, 54, was found unconscious in a hot tub. Before sentencing, his stepmother, Debbie Perry, urged the court to impose the maximum sentence of more than 60 years.

In a victim impact statement, Debbie said Sangha caused “irreversible” damage, writing: “The pain you have caused hundreds, perhaps thousands, is irreversible. There is no joy… No light in the window. They’re not coming back.’

Born in Ilford in 1983 to a wealthy Sikh family, Sangha was the only child of Nilem Singh and Baljeet Singh Chhokar, an Indian doctor. Her grandparents had set up a multi-million pound clothing business in East London, allowing her to inherit considerable wealth.

After her parents’ divorce, she moved to California at the age of 10 and excelled academically. She attended Calabasas High School before studying social sciences at UC Irvine and later completing an MBA in London.

Friends described a marked change in her late 20s after returning to Los Angeles, when she became embedded in a party circuit known as the “Kitties,” a group that organizes multi-day events attended by celebrities.

Tony Marquez, a close friend from that period, said: “It was the pinnacle of having access to A-list celebrities. That’s the biggest drug she was exposed to. No alcohol, no ketamine. That’s the worst addiction she went through.”

Marquez, now 42, portrayed Sangha as driven less by profit than by proximity to fame. He added, “She had a really good foundation. I think she did everything her parents told her to do. And I think when you’re done with that, you decide what you really want to pursue.”

Marquez also said their social circle normalized ketamine use, admitting, “It was always about ketamine.”

As her social status grew, Sangha became increasingly elusive. “She was always outside,” Marquez said. “Always going to different premieres or red carpet events. She wouldn’t be in the normal clubs; she would be on a different level.”

The authorities painted a different picture. When police raided her apartment in March 2024, they discovered large quantities of drugs, including 79 vials of ketamine and other substances.

Bill Bodner, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent, said, “She ran a fairly large drug trafficking operation that targeted the Hollywood elite.”

Marquez disputed that characterization, saying, “That’s stock for two weekends of partying at a big event. She was never a kingpin. She was never a big dealer.”

Prosecutors said Sangha had been supplying drugs for years before Perry’s death. In 2019, she provided ketamine to Cody McLaury, 33, who died of a drug overdose.

Although she was not charged in connection with his death, prosecutors cited it as evidence of a pattern. A toxicologist, Dr. Andrew Stolbach, said: “I would have attributed this death primarily to heroin.”

Court documents revealed that Sangha later continued dealing drugs despite warnings. Prosecutors argued that she showed a “lack of demonstrated remorse” and continued to sell large quantities of dangerous substances.

Perry’s delivery was arranged through intermediary Erik Fleming, who will be sentenced later this month. Together, Fleming and Sangha sold 51 vials of ketamine to the drug-addicted actor in two transactions, including the dose linked to his death.

Character references submitted to the court described Sangha as “kind” and “compassionate”, including a letter from Perla Hudson, who said she was “like a younger sister to me”.

But prosecutors pointed to a recorded prison call in which Sangha appeared to talk about monetizing her story. According to court documents, when a friend said, “We’re going to sell those book rights,”

Sangha replied, “Oh, I know, the plan is done, the damn trademark is disappearing.”