The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, arrested one more person in connection with Operation Numkhor – a nationwide crackdown on the large-scale smuggling of premium second-hand vehicles through Bhutan and forged registration rackets involving Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) officials – taking the total number of arrests to seven.
The arrested was identified as Yash, a native of Jaipur, who allegedly played a key role in smuggling vehicles across the border. He was reportedly in close contact with Biswadip Das, believed to be one of the key masterminds, who was apprehended near the India–Bhutan border in a coordinated operation on February 22, 2026.
“Yash mainly operated out of Delhi and Jaipur. He identified vehicles, planned the smuggling, and coordinated operations along the Bhutan border. He was behind many vehicles smuggled into Kerala. He remained in constant touch with Das and even introduced new potential buyers,” said Customs sources.
Earlier this month, Customs seized eight SUVs from across Kerala and arrested one person, identified as Zain Marva, partner of Roadway Cars, Kozhikode. He was accused of maintaining direct links with smuggling gangs and selling such SUVs across Kerala. Mr. Das had sourced many smuggled SUVs from Bhutan and sold several of them to Roadway Cars through a Delhi native.
Earlier this year, Customs arrested five suspects – four from Assam and one from West Bengal. Among those taken into custody, with the support of Shillong Customs, was Dipak Patowary, District Transport Officer, Bongaigaon, Assam. In a related development, Bongaigaon Police also arrested seven persons, including Mr. Patowary and the Joint District Transport Officer, for their alleged involvement in registering 464 vehicles using forged documents at the Bongaigaon RTO after fraudulently showing that most of the vehicles were originally registered in Lakshadweep. These included foreign-made luxury cars and lorries, as well as Indian-made vehicles exported abroad and smuggled back into the country through Bhutan without payment of customs duty.
The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, has drawn up a potential list of 200 smuggled vehicles across Kerala. Multiple rackets are suspected to be involved in smuggling vehicles and securing illegal registrations using forged documents. Customs has so far identified two major networks — one based in Coimbatore and another in Assam. MVD officials are alleged to have colluded with these rackets to tamper with the Parivahan website database.
Published – May 30, 2026 10:39 am IST
