Kochi: In a major breakthrough under the ongoing ‘Operation Numkhor’, the office of the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Cochin, has intensified its nationwide crackdown on an extensive cross-border luxury vehicle smuggling racket. In its latest multi-city operation, the agency has seized eight more premium Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) from various locations in Kerala.

Among the high-profile seizures is a Nissan Patrol SUV associated with Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan. Additionally, a prominent partner of a luxury used-car showroom has been arrested in connection with the smuggling ring.

Acting on precise intelligence, Customs officials executed coordinated raids across Kerala on Thursday, resulting in the confiscation of seven luxury SUVs valued at over ₹1.5 crore.

The investigation revealed that the vehicles had been illegally sourced from Bhutan by a transnational smuggling ring and routed into Kerala via a Delhi-based intermediary. The primary recipient of these vehicles in the state was M/s Roadway Cars, located in Kozhikode.

On Thursday, Customs authorities arrested Zain Marva, a partner of M/s Roadway Cars, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Investigators established that Marva was directly linked to the core smuggling syndicates and actively masterminded the distribution of these illegally imported, high-end SUVs throughout Kerala.

In a parallel development, an eighth vehicle, a vintage Nissan Patrol SUV, was seized from the custody of Eldo Paul, owner of Signature Cars, a car modification and used luxury car showroom in Kalamassery, Kochi.

“The vehicle had recently gained attention after being featured in the Dulquer Salmaan-starrer movie ‘Lucky Baskhar’. During the promotional interviews for the movie, Salmaan has often claimed the Nissan Patrol featured in the movie was his own. Officials seized the SUV on the ‘reasonable belief’ that the vehicle had been illicitly driven into India through the highly porous Bhutan/Nepal land borders, evading steep domestic import taxes and customs duties. We are currently verifying whether the vehicle has any permanent ownership link to the actor himself,” said Customs sources.

The latest developments follow massive inter-state breakthroughs achieved earlier this year. ‘Operation Numkhor’, named after the Dzongkha (Bhutanese national language) word for vehicle, initially launched in September 2025. It has since unfurled a massive bureaucratic corruption scandal spanning multiple states in which vehicles from Bhutan have been smuggled into India and re-registered using forged documents. A majority of these vehicles were reportedly sold to auto-enthusiasts and celebrities in Kerala. The Customs have earlier seized over 45 vehicles from Kerala in a series of raids and actors including Dulquer Salmaan and Amith Chackalakkal were under scanner.

Customs officials also found that the Bongaigaon Police in Assam had registered an independent criminal case against transport authorities for institutional forgery. A collaborative investigation revealed that a staggering 464 smuggled vehicles had been illegally registered at the Bongaigaon Regional Transport Office (RTO) using heavily forged and falsified documentation.

The sheer magnitude of the scam prompted a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report highlighting over 15,000 duplicate registrations across the Northeast. The geopolitical gravity of Operation Numkhor was prominent enough to be raised during Home Secretary-level bilateral talks between India and Bhutan, and it served as a primary agenda item during the Indo-Bhutan Joint Customs Group meeting held in Munnar last month.

With the Cochin Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate tracking a provisional watchlist of over 200 suspect luxury vehicles operating inside Kerala alone, authorities indicate that more high-profile seizures and arrests are imminent as the investigation proceeds.