Operation 'Numkhor', led by the Kochi Customs Preventive unit, has uncovered a criminal network stretching from the Northeastern states to Kerala.

A comprehensive report is set to be submitted to other central investigative agencies. Customs officials warned that the nationwide sale of vehicles with forged registrations poses a grave threat to national security, as these untraceable assets could be exploited by criminal or extremist groups.

The scale of the scam

CAG findings: A recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in the Assam Assembly revealed that 15,849 vehicles across seven Northeastern states share identical chassis and engine numbers.

Assam at epicentre: Of these duplicates, 12,112 vehicles were registered in Assam alone.

Kerala connection: It is estimated that between 150 and 220 high-end SUVs reached Kerala through this racket; 49 of these have already been seized by Customs.

Smuggling modus operandi: The racket involved foreign luxury cars and Indian-made vehicles that were exported and then illicitly brought back into the country to evade high customs duties.

Key arrests and government collusion

The investigation gained momentum following the arrest of Biswadeep Das, a senior IT engineer and the alleged mastermind. His interrogation led to the arrest of Deepak Patowari, a District Transport Officer (DTO) in Mangaldoi, Assam, on February 27.

Patowari, who has a prior history of fraudulent registration cases, is part of a four-member gang responsible for the fake documentation of at least 460 vehicles smuggled from Bhutan.