KOCHI: The Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Kochi, has arrested five persons in connection with a major smuggling racket involving high-end second-hand vehicles imported illegally from Bhutan without payment of customs duties.
The arrests were made as part of Operation Numkhor, a customs enforcement operation launched in September 2025 to investigate the illegal import of luxury and other vehicles from Bhutan into India using forged documents and fraudulent registrations.
Biswadip Das, a native of West Bengal and suspected to be one of the key masterminds behind the racket, was arrested near the Indo-Bhutan border on February 22. He was later remanded to judicial custody and brought to Kochi on transit remand for further investigation.
In a parallel operation with the support of the Shillong Customs Preventive formation, four more persons were arrested in Assam — Dipak Patowary, Ayub Ali, MD Mostafa Ahmed alias Rinku, and Jalal Mandal.
Investigations revealed that the accused were allegedly involved in the illegal registration of around 460 vehicles using forged documents, a matter currently under investigation by the Assam police. The vehicles include foreign-made luxury cars as well as Indian-manufactured vehicles that were exported and later smuggled back into the country without customs clearance and payment of duties.
Officials said the Kochi Customs (Preventive) team travelled nearly 3,000 km within a week to carry out the coordinated arrests in different locations.
Operation Numkhor — 'Numkhor' meaning vehicle in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan — was launched to uncover a network engaged in smuggling high-end second-hand vehicles from Bhutan into India while evading customs duties and taxes. The probe has involved raids, verification of registration documents, and seizures across several districts in Kerala and along the Indo-Bhutan border.
The operation is emerging as one of the largest cases involving vehicle smuggling and forged registrations. A recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India flagged large-scale irregularities, noting that 15,849 vehicles bearing identical chassis and engine numbers were registered across multiple northeastern states, indicating the presence of a widespread racket.
Customs officials said further investigation is under way, and more arrests, seizures and legal action are expected as the probe progresses.
