Operation Numkhor: Key aide of Biswadip Das arrested

The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, has arrested one more person in connection with Operation Numkhor, a nationwide operation against large-scale smuggling of premium second-hand vehicles through Bhutan and fake registration rackets involving Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) officials, taking the total number of arrests to seven.

It was stated that the person arrested was Jaipur native Yash, who allegedly played a key role in smuggling vehicles across the border. He was reportedly in close contact with Biswadip Das, believed to be one of the key minds, who was captured in a coordinated operation near the India-Bhutan border on February 22, 2026.

“Yash was mainly operating in Delhi and Jaipur. He identified vehicles, planned the smuggling and coordinated operations at the Bhutan border. He was behind many vehicles smuggled into Kerala. He remained in constant touch with Das and even brought in new potential buyers,” Customs sources said.

Earlier this month, Customs seized eight SUVs across Kerala and arrested a person identified as Zain Marva, partner of Kozhikode Roadway Cars. He was accused of maintaining direct links with smuggling gangs and selling such SUVs in Kerala. Mr. Das had procured several illegal SUVs from Bhutan and sold many of them to Roadway Cars through the Delhi native.

Earlier this year, customs arrested five suspects, four from Assam and one from West Bengal. Among those detained with the support of Shillong Customs was Dipak Patowary, District Transport Officer, Bongaigaon, Assam. In a related development, Bongaigaon Police also arrested seven persons, including Mr. Patowary and Joint District Transport Officer, for their alleged involvement in registering 464 vehicles using forged documents at Bongaigaon RTO after fraudulently showing that most of the vehicles were originally registered in Lakshadweep. These included foreign-made luxury cars and trucks, as well as Indian-made vehicles exported abroad and smuggled into the country via Bhutan without paying customs duty.

The Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi, has prepared a potential list of 200 smuggled vehicles across Kerala. Multiple blackmailers are suspected to be involved in vehicle smuggling and securing illegal records using forged documents. Customs has so far identified two major networks, one in Coimbatore and the other in Assam. MVD officials allegedly colluded with these tricks to tamper with the Parivahan website database.