Kochi | The Customs Commissionerate (Preventive), Kochi, has seized multiple SUVs, including one featured in a Malayalam film starring Dulquer Salmaan, and arrested a used luxury car showroom owner as part of a smuggling probe, officials said on Friday.
The action was part of 'Operation Numkhor', an ongoing investigation into the smuggling of luxury vehicles from Nepal and Bhutan.
Officials said the operation was launched last year following a tip-off that a large number of vehicles from Bhutan and Nepal were being brought into various parts of India in violation of norms, allegedly in connivance with officials in transport departments across states.
During the investigation, Customs arrested Deepak Potawary, District Transport Officer of Bongaigaon in Assam, after it was found that 464 vehicles from Bhutan were registered using fake or forged documents at the Bongaigaon Regional Transport Office, with many shown as having first registration in Lakshadweep.
Officials said the probe revealed that Biswajit Das, the alleged kingpin of the racket, sourced several smuggled SUVs from Bhutan and routed them to Kerala through a Delhi-based intermediary.
The vehicles were reportedly sold to Roadway Cars in Kozhikode, and investigations indicated that its partner, Zain Marva, was directly linked to the smuggling network and involved in distributing the vehicles in Kerala, officials said.
Customs on Friday seized seven SUVs from various parts of the state and arrested Marva for his alleged role in smuggling vehicles from Bhutan to Kerala, officials said.
The seized vehicles are valued at over Rs 1.5 crore.
In addition, a Nissan Patrol SUV featured in the Malayalam film 'Lucky Baskhar', starring Dulquer Salmaan, was also seized.
The vehicle was seized from Eldho Paul, who runs the used car showroom Signature Cars in Kalamassery, near Kochi.
Customs officials said they are examining whether the vehicle had any ownership link to the actor.
They added that evidence has emerged indicating the seized SUV was illegally imported into India through the Bhutan-Nepal route.
Earlier, Customs, as part of Operation Numkhor, had seized several SUVs, including those allegedly linked to actors Salmaan and Amit Chakkalakkal.
