New Delhi: Two men from Coimbatore and a former soldier of the Bhutanese Army are at the centre of Indian agencies’ probe into an alleged syndicate that smuggled in high-end cars from Bhutan, ThePrint has learnt. These cars were then allegedly sold to many including Mollywood actors Prithviraj, Dulquer Salmaan, and Amith Chakalakkal.
The syndicate, allegedly operated by the Coimbatore men Sathik Basha and Imran Khan, is suspected to have smuggled in hundreds of high-end cars through the Indo-Bhutan border, including Land Cruisers, Defenders, and Maseratis. Earlier this week, the Customs Department told the Kerala High Court that nearly 150 high-end cars allegedly smuggled into the country are in Kerala.
Based on these inputs and other information gathered by the Customs Department, and its own intelligence, Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday searched 17 locations such as workshops, business establishments in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam and Coimbatore, and one address in Chennai that included premises linked to actors Prithviraj, Dulquer Salmaan, and Amith Chakalakkal. ED sleuths also searched premises linked to the Coimbatore firm at the centre of the alleged syndicate.
The searches concluded Wednesday evening, after which the agency summoned Salmaan for questioning. On 23 September, the local unit of the Customs Department had searched nearly 30 locations across Kerala and seized 36 luxury cars in connection with the probe.
Salman challenged the seizure of his Land Rover Defender by the Customs Department before the Kerala High Court, which criticised the department for seizing the vehicle without sufficient evidence.
Officials familiar with the investigation said the Coimbatore men, Imran and Sathik, set up an automobile firm named Shine Motors and began importing spare parts and standalone cars from Bhutan in 2018.
The business peaked in the wake of the pandemic, recording its highest revenue to date in the financial year 2022-23.
Their partner on the other side of the border in Bhutan, agencies suspect, is a former Bhutanese army personnel named Sha Kinley.
“The Coimbatore-based persons were paying at times in the bank account, as well as through hawala, for the imports of these cars, as well as spare parts. All these transactions were carried out without a valid Goods and Services Tax and PAN documents,” an official privy to the case findings told ThePrint.
According to an ED officer familiar with the probe, one person drove the cars to the border on the Bhutan side, where he handed it over to a second person. The cars were then brought to a third person based in areas along the Indo-Bhutan border. Some of these cars were also dismantled, and their spare parts allegedly sold separately through online platforms such as OLX, the ED has found.
Investigators suspect the cars entered India through West Bengal’s Jaigaon. The consignments were then brought to Kolkata, from where carriers transported them to Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, and finally to Coimbatore.
While India and Bhutan share a free trade regime, import of used cars is banned in India, except when imported under the Transfer of Residence provision, under which a vehicle used for not less than three years in the country of origin can be registered in India, after paying 160 percent duty.
According to the ED, the Coimbatore-based firm and its proprietors also allegedly covered up fraudulent registration of these cars with the transport departments of Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, among other states, to enable their clients to use the vehicles on Indian roads.
“The seized records are being forensically analysed to trace the money trail and confirm the involvement of foreign accounts. ED is coordinating with Customs, state RTOs and other agencies for verification and further legal action,” an agency spokesperson said Thursday.
Adding, “The operation has unearthed a network that exploited porous borders and digital platforms to evade customs duties and move foreign exchange through informal channels. Admissions obtained during the searches have provided vital leads for tracing the funds and identifying other members of the syndicate.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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