Kochi: In a big boost to Operation Numkhor, which was launched by the Customs Preventive (Kochi) to dismantle the cross-border syndicate that smuggles luxury cars from Bhutan to India, a high-level delegation from Bhutan’s Customs department arrived in Kerala on Sunday.

Around 10 senior officials from Bhutanese Department of Revenue and Customs have joined their Indian counterparts for the Indo-Bhutan Joint Customs Group summit, which officially commenced this morning in Munnar.

This four-day summit, running until April 23, marks a critical turning point in Operation Numkhor, which will be a key focus area in the summit. What began as a local investigation by the Customs (Preventive) unit in Kochi has now evolved into a major diplomatic and enforcement priority for both Thimphu and New Delhi.

Launched in October 2025, Operation Numkhor, which was named after the Dzongkha word for ‘vehicle’ in Bhutan, was designed to intercept high-end SUVs smuggled from Bhutan into India. The scale of the racket is immense with over 50 vehicles have already been seized in Kerala, including five recent recoveries in Kozhikode. Customs intelligence suggests that more than 200 smuggled cars have been sold to auto-enthusiasts in the state alone.

The syndicate’s primary strategy involved smuggling vehicles across the border and using forged documents to re-register them in North Indian states like Assam and Himachal Pradesh. This allowed the cars to be sold in the second-hand market with seemingly “clean” Indian papers, completely bypassing heavy import duties.

Customs sources said the joint meeting is being held in Kerala, where Operation Numkhor was launched, following a discussion between India and Bhutan’s customs department. The current meeting in Munnar is expected to be a tactical war room where both nations are working to bridge critical information gaps. A primary focus of the talks is the formal exchange of evidence, where Indian officers are presenting compiled documentation on the smuggling network’s operations to the Bhutanese team.

Furthermore, the delegations are discussing integrated border management to strengthen checks at the Indo-Bhutan frontier, specifically targeting the movement of vehicle parts and disguised shipments. This coordination is viewed as a direct follow-up to Home Secretary-level talks held last year, emphasising a joint enforcement approach to track the money trail in the smuggling and execute pending warrants.

As the Bhutanese delegation seeks to understand the full chain of the racket  – from initial registration in Bhutan to cross-border transit – the Customs (Preventive) unit in Kochi is accelerating its crackdown. The Economic Offences Court in Kochi has recently issued non-bailable warrants against four key suspects based in Assam who failed to appear before investigators.

Among those under the scanner is a District Transport Officer (DTO) from Bongaigaon in Assam, whose failure to cooperate led to the cancellation of his bail. With one suspect from West Bengal already in judicial custody, Customs teams are reportedly preparing to move to Assam shortly to execute the fresh warrants.