11
ED Raid: The gang is involved in illegal import and registration of luxury cars like Land Cruiser, Defender and Maserati through India-Bhutan-Nepal routes.
ED Raid: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has cracked down on three actors in the case of smuggling of luxury vehicles from Bhutan to India. The ED on Wednesday raided premises linked to actors Prithviraj, Dulquer Salmaan and Amit Chakkalakal and some others in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as part of its probe into a customs case. The Enforcement Directorate also raided the premises of some vehicle owners, auto workshops and traders in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam in Kerala and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Sources said that a total of 17 premises are being raided. This action is being taken under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in a case recently highlighted by the Customs Department. This case pertains to smuggling of high-priced luxury vehicles and unauthorized foreign exchange transactions.
Luxury cars like Land Cruiser, Defender and Maserati included
Officials said the raid was based on information that a gang was involved in illegal import and registration of luxury cars like Land Cruiser, Defender and Maserati through India-Bhutan-Nepal routes. According to officials, preliminary investigation has revealed that a Coimbatore-based network (claiming to be issued from the Indian Army, US Embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs) is using fake documents and fake RTO (regional transport office) registrations in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and other states. He said that these vehicles were later sold at low prices to high net worth individuals (HNIs), including film personalities. The Enforcement Directorate suspects that the case prima facie violates sections three, four and eight of FEMA, which involves allegations of unauthorized foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments through hawala channels.
Raids under ‘Operation Namkhor’
In a development related to the case, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday allowed Dulquer Salmaan to file an application for provisional release of his vehicle seized by the Customs Department and directed the agency to consider it within a week if such a petition is filed. According to Dulkar, the vehicle was sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross (RCRC) to the ICRC regional delegation based in New Delhi. The actor said in his petition that he was fully confident that the ownership of the vehicle and its registration with the Motor Vehicles Authority was valid and there was nothing that would make him doubt its validity. The actor claimed that the customs officials refused to review the documents of the vehicle handed over to them and seized the vehicle hastily and arbitrarily. Customs officials had raided around 30 locations across Kerala, including the homes of the three actors, on September 23 and seized 36 luxury cars. The raid, conducted under ‘Operation Numkhor’, revealed that some of these vehicles were also used for smuggling of gold and narcotics.
Also read: Beware of fake currency! Fake notes worth Rs 59.50 lakh recovered in this state of the country, 7 arrested in the case
