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Actor Dulquer Salmaan’s statement was recorded by the Customs Commissionerate in Ernakulam on Wednesday, July 1, regarding his alleged involvement in the Bhutan car smuggling case. The statement recording was part of a broader investigation named Operation Numkhor, which probes the smuggling of decommissioned or discarded luxury vehicles from Bhutan into India, allegedly using forged documents and manipulated registrations to evade Customs duty.
As part of the operation, Customs officers had previously seized four luxury SUVs linked to Dulquer, including a Land Rover Defender, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and a Nissan Patrol used in his film Lucky Baskhar. According to reports, the actor had earlier secured provisional release of two of the four seized vehicles.
A senior official told TNM that Dulquer stated that the vehicles were purchased legally and that he had no knowledge of whether they had been originally smuggled into India from Bhutan.
The official also said that the Customs department recorded statements from a few more individuals, some of whom were unaware of the smuggling, while others were aware.
Customs Commissioner T Tiju announced the operation at a press conference in September 2025. Before the formal announcement, searches were conducted at the residences of actors Prithviraj Sukumaran and Amit Chakkalakkal, though vehicles were recovered only from Dulquer’s residence.
The officers seized 36 high-end vehicles; on September 23, two of which were owned by Dulquer Salmaan. Commissioner Tiju had earlier told the media the seized vehicles lacked registration, fitness certificates, and insurance. Officials also flagged possible GST manipulation.
In February 2026, the investigation team arrested five individuals as part of Operation Numkhor. The alleged mastermind of a smuggling racket, Biswadip Das from Naigaon, West Bengal, was arrested on February 22 near the India–Bhutan border. Officials said he played a key role in coordinating the smuggling network that facilitated the entry and circulation of high-value vehicles without Customs clearance.
In a related operation carried out with the assistance of the Shillong Customs Preventive formation, four more suspects were arrested in Assam on February 25. They have been identified as Dipak Patowary, Ayub Ali, MD Mostafa Ahmed alias Rinku, and Jalal Mandal.