The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today escalated its investigation into the sophisticated luxury car smuggling racket, conducting simultaneous raids at 17 locations across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The high-profile sweep, initiated under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, targeted premises linked to prominent Malayalam film figures, including superstar Mammootty and actors Dulquer Salmaan (Mammootty’s son) and Prithviraj Sukumaran, as well as actor Amit Chakkalakkal.
The ED’s action follows an earlier, extensive crackdown—codenamed ‘Operation Numkhor’ (meaning ‘vehicle’ in Bhutanese)—carried out by the Customs Preventive Commissionerate last month, which led to the seizure of dozens of high-end vehicles.
ED Raids Focus on Financial Trail
The Kochi Zonal Office of the ED confirmed that the raids today covered the residences and establishments of the actors, vehicle owners, auto workshops, and traders in districts like Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Coimbatore.
- Mammootty’s Property Raided: Two ED officers and CRPF personnel conducted a search at a property linked to Mammootty in Chennai, which reportedly houses his production company.
- FEMA Violations Suspected: The current phase of the probe focuses on uncovering unauthorised foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments, including potential use of hawala channels, a suspected violation of FEMA Sections 3, 4, and 8. The agency is actively tracing the money trail and the network of beneficiaries involved in the illicit trade.
The Car Smuggling Modus Operandi
The investigation centers on a racket involving the illegal import of pre-owned luxury vehicles, primarily from Bhutan, to evade massive Indian import duties. The key aspects of the alleged scheme include:
- Forged Documentation: A Coimbatore-based network is suspected of forging crucial documents, including those purportedly bearing the seals of the Indian Army and the US Embassy, to facilitate registration.
- Fraudulent Registration: The cars were allegedly fraudulently registered in states like Himachal Pradesh or Arunachal Pradesh before being sold to high-net-worth individuals, including film personalities, at significantly undervalued prices.
- Wider Links: Customs officials previously noted that their initial probe into the smuggled cars, of which over 40 have been seized so far (including multiple vehicles linked to Dulquer Salmaan), revealed possible links to gold smuggling, drug trafficking, and money laundering.
Actors’ Involvement and Legal Recourse
While raids were conducted at the residences of both Prithviraj and Dulquer Salmaan, officials did not seize any vehicles from Prithviraj’s premises. However, multiple luxury vehicles belonging to Dulquer Salmaan have been seized.
Dulquer Salmaan has since approached the Kerala High Court, asserting that all his vehicles were purchased legally from previous owners in India with proper documentation and financial transactions. The actor’s plea claimed that the seizure and subsequent media narrative have caused him “serious embarrassment.” The court has directed the actor to approach the appropriate adjudicating authority under the Customs Act to seek the provisional release of his seized vehicles, including a Land Rover Defender.
The ongoing probe underscores the determination of central agencies to dismantle the organized syndicate behind the lucrative trade, which has resulted in the evasion of crores of rupees in government revenue.
