Published Mar 07, 2026 | 1:40 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 07, 2026 | 1:40 PM
Illegally imported vehicles. Representative Image. (iStock).jpg
Synopsis: Those taken into custody include four individuals from Assam and one from West Bengal. Among them is Dipak Patowary, the District Transport Officer of Bongaigaon in Assam, who was apprehended with the assistance of Shillong Customs. The other accused are Biswadip Das from West Bengal and Ayub Ali, Mostafa Ahmed alias Rinku, and Jalal Mandal, all residents of Assam.
Five persons have been taken into custody in connection with a nationwide crackdown on the smuggling and illegal registration of high-end second-hand vehicles, as part of Operation Numkhor led by the Customs Commissionerate (Preventive) in Kochi.
Those taken into custody include four individuals from Assam and one from West Bengal. Among them is Dipak Patowary, the District Transport Officer of Bongaigaon in Assam, who was apprehended with the assistance of Shillong Customs. The other accused are Biswadip Das from West Bengal and Ayub Ali, Mostafa Ahmed alias Rinku, and Jalal Mandal, all residents of Assam.
Investigators suspect that the network, allegedly facilitated by Patowary, enabled the illegal registration of nearly 460 smuggled vehicles using forged documents.
The vehicles include foreign luxury cars and trucks, as well as Indian-manufactured vehicles that were earlier exported and later smuggled back into the country through Bhutan without payment of Customs duty.
Officials said the Kochi Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate alone has so far seized 49 smuggled vehicles from a list of around 200 suspected vehicles identified across Kerala.
Tracing the origin and ownership history of each vehicle is a complex process, and officials indicated that further seizures may take time.
The ongoing probe has revealed the involvement of multiple networks engaged in smuggling vehicles and securing fraudulent registrations through fabricated documents.
Investigators have identified two major rackets so far — one operating out of Coimbatore and another based in Assam.
Customs sources alleged that certain Motor Vehicle Department officials were complicit, manipulating records in the Parivahan database to regularise the vehicles.
The investigation has gained further significance following a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, tabled in the Assam Assembly last month, which found that 15,849 vehicles carrying identical chassis and engine numbers had been registered across several north-eastern states.
The Assam Police have also recorded the arrests in the case. Biswadip Das, believed to be a key figure in the racket, was arrested near the India–Bhutan border during a coordinated operation on 22 February.
After being remanded to judicial custody, he was brought to Kochi on transit remand for further interrogation.
Operation Numkhor was launched by the Kochi Commissionerate with coordinated raids across Kerala on September 23, 2025.
The searches included residences linked to popular film actors, during which 39 vehicles were seized on the first day, followed by another 10 in the days that followed.
