Customs Raid on Dulquer and Prithviraj: As part of a nationwide crackdown on luxury vehicle smuggling via Bhutan, customs officers are raiding the homes of prominent Mollywood actors Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran in Kochi. The operation, nicknamed “Numkoor” (meaning “vehicle” in Bhutanese), targets a ring that reportedly involves illegal vehicle imports and tax cheating.
Raids are presently taking place at Dulquer’s home in Panampilly Nagar and Prithviraj’s home in Thevara. Prithviraj’s house in Thiruvananthapuram was also visited by officials, but no questionable cars were discovered there. In all, over 30 sites in Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kochi are being searched in relation to the case.
Operation Numkoor:
The operation is based on information that retired Bhutan Army vehicles were smuggled into India without paying customs taxes after being auctioned off at low costs. It is reported that these premium cars were shipped to Himachal Pradesh, registered under false addresses, and then sold to well-known individuals, such as movie stars and businessmen, for exorbitant amounts.
According to sources, these transactions have been made possible by a well-organized network of agents taking advantage of legal gaps in Indo-Bhutan trade accords. Although the cars are lawfully up for auction in Bhutan, it is against Indian customs legislation to import and resell them without the required taxes.
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