ED summons Dulquer Salmaan in high-end automobile smuggling probe

The Kochi Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement(ED )on Wednesday(October 8, 2025) summoned actor-producer Dulquer Salmaan in connection with the seizure of 3 high-end previously owned SUVs by the Customs last month.

The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, at first took 2 SUVs– 2 Land Rover Defenders and a Nissan Patrol– followed by another car from the star as part of Operation Numkhor, which targets high-value used lorries thought to have actually been smuggled in from Bhutan.

Apparently, the star has actually been summoned relating to deals associated with the taken cars.

Mr. Salmaan had earlier approached the Kerala High Court looking for the release of his lorries. On Tuesday, the High Court directed him to approach the adjudicating authority under the Customs Act to ask for the release of among his high-end SUVs.

ED raids

The ED has actually been carrying out raids under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at 17 places throughout Kerala and Tamil Nadu considering that Wednesday early morning as part of a continuous examination into the supposed smuggling of high-end previously owned high-end cars and associated unauthorised forex deals.

The operation covered 17 properties, consisting of the homes and facilities of movie stars Prithviraj Sikumaran, Mr. Salmaan, and Amit Chakkalakkal, in addition to specific automobile owners, vehicle workshops, and traders in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam, and Coimbatore.

These raids follow synchronised Statewide operations performed by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, at over 30 places– consisting of the houses of stars– on September 23. Throughout those raids, 37 “high-value pre-owned cars and trucks” presumed to have actually been smuggled in from Bhutan over the previous couple of years were taken. 3 more cars were taken in the days that followed.

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“The searches were based upon inputs exposing a distribute participated in the prohibited import and registration of high-end cars and trucks such as Land Cruiser, Defender, and Maserati through Indo-Bhutan/Nepal paths,” mentioned a release provided by the ED on Wednesday.

Initial findings expose a Coimbatore-based network utilizing created files– claiming to be from the Indian Army, United States Embassy, and Ministry of External Affairs– and deceptive RTO (Regional Transport Office) registrations in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and other States. The lorries were later on offered to high-net-worth people, consisting of movie characters, at underestimated costs, the release included.

The ED action was started after prima facie infractions of Sections 3, 4, and 8 of FEMA were found, including unauthorised forex deals and cross-border payments through hawala channels.

Additional examination is under method to trace the cash path, recipient network, and forex motion.

The Customs performed the operation based upon a list of 150 to 200 automobiles flagged for abnormalities in the database of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. These automobiles were presumed to have actually been smuggled into Kerala by a Coimbatore-based racket.