A group from Bhutan Customs travelled to Kerala as part of the ongoing investigation under Operation Numkhor, the multi-agency examination into alleged illegal vehicle imports from Bhutan that has previously garnered national attention.
The Customs Preventive formation initiated Operation Numkhor to monitor allegedly illicit shipments that were passed via Bhutan and subsequently registered in other parts of India. At least 38 SUVs were seized throughout Kerala during earlier stages of the investigation, including those connected to stars Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Amith Chakalakkal.
In the steep area of Munnar, a ten-person team headed by Bhutan's Customs Commissioner is now collaborating with Indian Customs authorities.The purpose of the conference is to organise the next stage of action against tax evasion associated with cross-border car smuggling and to share the intelligence that has been obtained thus far.
Over the years, about 15,000 cars may have been smuggled into India from Bhutan, according to official estimates. It is believed that many of these cars were registered fraudulently in northeastern states.
Authorities in Assam alone have found 464 cars that were purportedly registered fraudulently.
According to investigators, the smuggling network encompassed expensive automobiles and motorcycles, which resulted in crores of rupees in tax avoidance.Customs had already confiscated over fifty automobiles in Kerala that were allegedly involved in the scheme, some of which were connected to movie stars.
Regardless of whether buyers were aware of abnormalities, officials had made it clear that automobiles were subject to investigation.
The investigation also made its way to the Kerala High Court in September 2025, when a division bench made up of Justices K Narendran and Murali Krishna questioned the Enforcement Directorate about the case's progress, pointing out that it concerned expensive cars bought by powerful people.
Since the matter appeared to entail money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court that it would investigate.Customs officials had previously stated that the Central GST wing would look into potential aspects of tax evasion, while the Enforcement Directorate would receive details of Operation Numkhor.
It is anticipated that the current Indo-Bhutan customs meeting will concentrate on coordinating future enforcement actions, verifying vehicle origin records, and exchanging intelligence.