The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, is likely to summon actor Dulquer Salmaan for another round of questioning 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.

Among the 60-odd vehicles seized by the Customs under the drive were three vehicles owned by Mr. Salmaan and one which has another owner but which the agency suspects is retained by the actor. He was questioned by the agency earlier this week in connection with the seizure of his vehicles.

Reportedly, the Customs believes that more vehicles of the actor may come under the purview of Operation Numkhor and it is likely to question him in that connection.

Mr. Salmaan has all along denied the charges claiming that he has not bought any vehicle illegally.

In May, the Customs seized eight SUVs from across Kerala. 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, the 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.