Criminal charges have been filed against five people in connection with the death of the star of " Friends" Matthew Perry almost a year ago, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA, referring to the police.
Among the defendants are two doctors and Perry's assistant who were part of an "extensive criminal network" that supplied the actor and others with large quantities of the prescription-only drug ketamine, US Attorney Martin Estrada said.
"These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction problems to enrich themselves," Estrada said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
Perry died at age 54 of "acute effects" from taking ketamine. The drug has a strong sedative effect and, along with other factors, caused the actor to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub last October, an autopsy revealed.
For months, LAPD homicide detectives and federal agents have been trying to determine how Perry obtained the prescription drug.
Toxicology tests found that Perry had dangerously high levels of ketamine, a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, in his system. Usually, people with this amount of ketamine in their system are under general anesthesia during surgery and are monitored by specialists, according to the actor's autopsy documents.
Other factors that contributed to his death were drowning, coronary heart disease and the effects of the opioid addiction treatment buprenorphine, which was also found in his system.
Perry has publicly admitted to drug and alcohol abuse for decades, including during his time as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s TV series Friends. According to interviews mentioned in the autopsy report, he had been sober for 19 months before his death.
According to witness interviews cited in the autopsy report, he was receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety.
The last known infusion was a week and a half before his death, so the ketamine found in his system by medical examiners is believed to have entered his system after that, the autopsy report said.