Kochi Customs Preventive has arrested a Kozhikode-based luxury car dealer in connection with the ongoing investigation into the smuggling of high-end SUVs from Bhutan and Nepal under Operation Numkhor.
The arrested person has been identified as Zain Marva, partner of M/s Roadway Cars in Kozhikode. He was arrested on May 14, Thursday, under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, for his alleged involvement in the smuggling and distribution of illegally imported SUVs in Kerala.
According to a press release issued by the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Kochi, the investigation found that Biswajit Das, identified by investigators as the kingpin of the smuggling network, had sourced several smuggled SUVs from Bhutan. These vehicles were allegedly sold to Roadway Cars through a middleman based in New Delhi.
Customs officials said that Zain Marva had direct links with the smuggling gangs and allegedly played a role in distributing the smuggled vehicles in Kerala.
As part of the latest operation, Customs officials seized seven SUVs from different parts of Kerala on May 14. The vehicles, allegedly smuggled from Bhutan into Kerala, are valued at more than Rs 1.5 crore, officials said.
The investigation is part of Operation Numkhor, launched by the Kochi Customs Preventive Commissionerate to probe the smuggling of second-hand SUVs and MUVs into India through the Bhutan and Nepal borders using forged and fake registration documents.
During the course of the investigation, Customs officials also found links with a parallel probe by the Assam Police into large-scale fake vehicle registrations at the Bongaigaon Regional Transport Office.
According to Customs, the Bongaigaon Police had registered a case against the District Transport Officer and Joint District Transport Officer of Bongaigaon, along with seven others, for allegedly registering 464 vehicles using forged documents. Most of the vehicles were falsely shown as having their first registration in Lakshadweep.
Earlier, Kochi Customs Preventive had arrested Bongaigaon DTO Deepak Potawary and four others for their alleged involvement in the fake registration of smuggled vehicles.
In another related seizure, Customs officials also seized a Nissan Patrol SUV linked to actor Dulquer Salmaan. The vehicle, which was featured in the film Lucky Bhaskar, was seized from Eldo Paul of Signature Cars in Kalamassery on suspicion that it had been illegally imported into India through the Bhutan or Nepal border, officials said.
Customs said further investigation into the smuggling network and distribution chain is continuing.