Why ED Raided Mammootty, Dulquer Salman's Homes: Inside Mollywood's Luxury Car Smuggling Scam

The

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (October 8) carried out searches at 17 locations across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including the film production house of Malayalam superstar Mammootty, as part of an investigation into the smuggling of high-end luxury vehicles and unauthorised foreign exchange dealings.

Celebrities Among Those Targeted

ED officials said residences and establishments of top actors, including Prithviraj, Dulquer Salman, and Amith Chackalacal, were among the 17 premises searched. The operation also covered vehicle owners, auto workshops, and traders in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam, and Coimbatore.Agencies suspect that more than 200 high-end luxury vehicles have been illegally imported from Nepal and Bhutan over the past two years. Officials said smugglers exploited low import duties and relatively porous borders to bring in vehicles, which were later sold at discounted prices after registering them with forged documents.

Inside the Luxury Vehicle Scam That Has Rocked Mollywood

The Kochi Zonal Office of the ED said the searches are being conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, in connection with an ongoing probe into a syndicate involved in illegal import and registration of luxury vehicles, including Land Cruisers, Defenders, and Maseratis, through Indo-Bhutan and Nepal routes."The ED Kochi Zonal Office is conducting search operations under FEMA, 1999 on 08 October 2025 at 17 locations across Kerala and Tamil Nadu in connection with the ongoing probe into smuggling of high-end luxury vehicles and unauthorised foreign exchange dealings," officials said.Preliminary findings suggest a Coimbatore-based network used forged documents purporting to be from the Indian Army, the US Embassy, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), along with fraudulent Regional Transport Office (RTO) registrations in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and other states. The vehicles were then sold to high-net-worth individuals, including film personalities, at undervalued prices."The searches were based on inputs exposing a syndicate engaged in illegal import and registration of luxury cars such as Land Cruiser, Defender, and Maserati through Indo-Bhutan/Nepal routes," officials added.

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Forex Violations and Hawala Channels

ED action was initiated after prima facie violations of Sections 3, 4, and 8 of FEMA were detected, involving unauthorised foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments through hawala channels. "Further investigation is underway to trace the money trail, beneficiary network, and foreign exchange movement," officials said.Sources said the probe indicates an organised racket, with smugglers, RTO officials, and buyers all allegedly involved. The agency is examining the full chain of operations, from illegal imports to sales.

Past Cases Show Similar Patterns

Similar luxury car smuggling networks have been busted in India before. In 2011, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered Aston Martin cars on Delhi streets that had been registered in the names of diplomatic missions.

Court Intervention

Yesterday, the Kerala High Court pulled up the customs department and directed it to provisionally release a seized vehicle under Section 110-A of the Customs Act.The High Court on Tuesday also permitted actor Dulquer Salmaan to file an application seeking the provisional release of a vehicle seized by the Customs Preventive Department. The court directed the agency to consider such a plea within a week if filed.According to Dulquer, the vehicle had been shipped by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to its regional delegation in New Delhi. In his petition, the actor said he had acted in good faith, believing the vehicle had valid ownership and registration with the Motor Vehicle Authority, and there was nothing to suggest otherwise.He also alleged that Customs officials had refused to examine the vehicle's documents provided to them and conducted the seizure hastily and arbitrarily.

'Operation Numkhor'

The Customs Department had earlier carried out raids at around 30 locations across Kerala on September 23, including the homes of Dulquer Salmaan, Mammootty, and Prithviraj, seizing a total of 36 luxury cars. The raids, part of "Operation Numkhor", uncovered evidence that some of these vehicles were allegedly used for smuggling gold and drugs.