The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out simultaneous raids at 17 locations across Kerala in connection with the Bhutan luxury car smuggling case, targeting the residences of top Malayalam film stars Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Amit Chakkalakkal.
The high-profile investigation stems from allegations that luxury vehicles were smuggled into India from Bhutan by evading customs duties and taxes. The ED’s move follows earlier inspections by the Customs Department, which had seized several vehicles from Dulquer Salmaan’s residence as part of an operation to uncover a network using fake registrations to import cars illegally.
According to sources, the ED stepped in after Customs found evidence of large-scale money laundering and GST evasion linked to the smuggling racket. The agency suspects that unaccounted funds were funneled through shell transactions to purchase and transport high-end vehicles into India under false documentation.
Raids are currently in progress at Mammootty’s iconic “Mammootty House” in Kochi and his Kadavanthra residence, with investigators examining financial documents, vehicle invoices, and registration details. Preliminary findings had already indicated that illegal luxury car imports were part of a wider money-laundering operation.
Officials believe that the accused manipulated vehicle registration details using the “mParivahan” app, enabling cars to be re-registered with fake credentials. Customs estimates that nearly 150 vehicles may have entered Kerala through this route, though only 37 have been verified so far.
The ED is now focusing on tracing the financial trail behind the transactions to determine the extent of tax evasion and identify all those involved in the smuggling network, which is feared to have deep links across multiple states.
