The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, on Thursday continued scrutinizing documents related to 38 vehicles seized under the ongoing “Operation Numkhor,” which targets high-value pre-owned cars suspected of being smuggled from Bhutan by a Coimbatore-based racket.
No additional seizures were made on Thursday, as Customs officials prepare to begin issuing notices to the owners of the impounded vehicles. The Land Cruiser, registered in Arunachal Pradesh under its first owner from Muvattupuzha in 2012 and recovered from a garage in Kundannoor on Wednesday, continued to attract significant attention.
According to garage workers, the owner had left behind the vehicle with a request to change colour from white to black, though the reasons remain unclear. It has also emerged that the vehicle was registered on an address in Assam.
Meanwhile, actor Amit Chakkalackal told the media that Customs had asked him to produce the relevant documents of six vehicles seized from a neighbourhood garage, where they had been brought for maintenance on his recommendation. He clarified that he had previously purchased spare parts from the Coimbatore-based person now under investigation. He, however, claimed that at that time they dealt in spare parts and not in premium pre-owned vehicles.
On the first day of the operation, Customs seized 36 vehicles, including those owned by actors Dulquer Salman and Mr. Chakkalackal. This was followed by the confiscation of two Land Cruisers on Wednesday, one of which belonged to a social media influencer and was recovered from a garage in Adimaly.
According to Customs officials, an estimated 150 to 200 such vehicles were smuggled into Kerala from Bhutan. Many of these vehicles were allegedly used to transport contraband such as gold and narcotics, and several were fraudulently registered using forged insignia and seals of the Indian Army, the Indian and American embassies, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Published – September 26, 2025 01:32 am IST
