ED raids on Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran

ED raids on Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on multiple occasion and also raids on the houses of Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

ED named the raids as Operation Namkoor and has been investigating the smuggling of luxury cars from Bhutan. The operation, codenamed Numkoor—which translates to vehicle in Bhutanese—is probing a network allegedly involved in illegal imports and tax evasion.

The raids were conducted in the houses of Prithviraj’s Thevara home and Dulquer’s Panampilly Nagar residence, on Tuesday. Authorities also visited Prithviraj’s house in Thiruvananthapuram but reportedly did not find any suspicious vehicles there. Overall, around 30 locations across Kerala, including Kochi, Kozhikode, and Malappuram, are being searched as part of the operation.

Sources shared "the investigation began after intelligence revealed that decommissioned Bhutan Army vehicles, sold at auction for low prices, were being smuggled into India without paying customs duties. These high-end vehicles were then transported to Himachal Pradesh, registered using temporary addresses, and sold at marked-up prices to prominent buyers, including actors and business figures."

They continued "a structured network of agents facilitated these transactions, exploiting loopholes in Indo-Bhutan trade rules. While the vehicles are legally auctioned in Bhutan, their import and resale in India without proper taxation violate customs regulations. Customs authorities have compiled a list of recipients of the vehicles, and the raids at the actors’ homes were reportedly conducted to verify whether they had purchased any of these cars."

Sources revealed "The operation is being coordinated under the supervision of the Commissioner for Kerala and Lakshadweep. Alongside the actors, authorities are inspecting the homes of businessmen in Kalamassery and car dealerships in Malappuram and Kozhikode. Officials continue to carry out searches, with further developments expected as the investigation progresses."