ED raids premises of actors Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran in luxurious automobile smuggling probe

The Kochi Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) was on Wednesday (October 8, 2025) conducting raids below the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at 17 places throughout Kerala and Tamil Nadu as a part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged smuggling of high-end pre-owned luxurious automobiles and associated unauthorised international trade transactions.

The operation lined 17 premises, together with the residences and institutions of movie stars Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Amit Chakkalakkal, in addition to sure car homeowners, car workshops, and merchants in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam, and Coimbatore.

The raids observe simultaneous, day-long and Statewide operations carried out by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, at over 30 places, together with the houses of film actors, on September 23, 2025. During these raids, 37 “high-value second-hand automobiles” suspected to have been smuggled in from Bhutan over the previous few years have been seized. Three extra automobiles have been seized within the ensuing days.

“The searches have been primarily based on inputs exposing a syndicate engaged within the unlawful import and registration of luxurious automobiles akin to Land Cruiser, Defender, and Maserati by means of Indo-Bhutan/Nepal routes,” stated a launch issued by the ED on Wednesday.

Forged paperwork

Preliminary findings reveal a Coimbatore-based community utilizing solid paperwork, allegedly purporting to be from the Indian Army, US Embassy, and Ministry of External Affairs, and fraudulent RTO (Regional Transport Office) registrations in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and different States. The automobiles have been later bought to high-net-worth people, together with movie personalities, at undervalued costs, the discharge added.

ED motion was initiated after prima facie violations of Sections 3, 4, and eight of FEMA have been detected, involving unauthorised international trade transactions and cross-border funds by means of hawala channels.

Further investigation is below technique to hint the cash path, beneficiary community, and international trade motion.

During its raid, named ‘Numkhor’ (which means ‘car’ within the Bhutanese language), Customs groups fanned out throughout Kerala primarily based on an inventory of 150 to 200 automobiles flagged for irregularities within the database of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. These automobiles have been suspected to have been smuggled into Kerala by a Coimbatore-based racket.

Multiple automobiles belonging to Dulquer Salmaan and Amit Chakkalakkal have been amongst these seized. While officers visited Prithviraj’s residence in Kochi, no car was seized from the premises.

Dulquer Salmaan has since approached the Kerala High Court searching for the discharge of his automobiles. On Tuesday, the courtroom directed him to method the adjudicating authority below the Customs Act to hunt the discharge of one in all his high-end SUVs.