The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Second-hand high-end Bhutanese cars have made the headlines in Indian news, particularly in the Indian state of Kerala after a raid by the Customs Preventive Wing on 23rd September across 30 locations in Kerala, including at the homes of some famous actors. The raid uncovered around 39 high-end second-hand Bhutanese vehicles.
India prohibits the sale of second-hand foreign vehicles within the country.
The Bhutanese spoke to Customs Preventive Commissioner, T Tiju, whose officers led the raids.
He said the investigations have just started a couple of days ago, and that more details would emerge over time. He confirmed that the seized vehicles were from Bhutan and that 39 vehicles has been seized so far.
Meanwhile, back home the Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC) under the Ministry of Finance are in contact with their customs counterpart in India to get more information on this and possibly collaborate on the investigation.
A Finance Ministry official said since the probe is in the early stages, the DRC has not yet received any credible information. The official said DRC would like to understand the modus operandi and then improve the systems by closing any loopholes.
The official said that if authorities in India can share adequate details, then they can try and see if they can track down the vehicle owners in Bhutan, and determine how the vehicles ended up in India.
Currently, Bhutanese can drive their vehicles to India with all the relevant documents, which may have been one way these vehicles could have been smuggled.
The Bhutanese checked with the Bhutan Transport and Construction Authority (BCTA), and here, an official said that if a Bhutanese wants to sell his vehicle in India, then they have to come with the sale deed and get it deregistered after which the BCTA will issue a no objection certificate.
The BCTA official, however, said that there have been no transfer or sale of high end Bhutanese cars in India as per the records barring the occasional heavy earthmoving vehicle, like bull dozers and trucks.
The BCTA itself is puzzled how these allegedly Bhutanese luxury vehicles ended up in India.
Given the absence of official records on this, it means if the vehicles are indeed from Bhutan, they must have been illegally transported.
The Kerala media outlet Matrubhumi reported that Jaigaon has emerged as the central hub for the illegal smuggling of SUVs from Bhutan into India. The vehicles are routed through the Phuentsholing, and illegally into India. Once across the border, these vehicles are registered using forged documents, effectively converting them into Indian vehicles.
An investigation by the Kochi Customs Preventive Unit has revealed that an international vehicle smuggling network operating out of Coimbatore is funneling vehicles into India via Jaigaon. The SUVs are fraudulently registered in Himachal Pradesh and Assam under second ownership, then moved to Karnataka and Kerala for resale after modification. Only a few of these vehicles are ever re-registered under a third or fourth owner. Smuggling agents based in Jaigaon and Phuentsholing assist in the cross-border transport in exchange for commission.
Another outlet in Kerala called Manorama has said the central investigative agencies probing the smuggling of stolen luxury cars to India via Bhutan through Operation Numkhor have identified a former official of the Royal Bhutan Army as the kingpin of the racket.
Operations of the racket in India are managed by a Nagaland native, and a Malayali agent working under him facilitated the sale of some of these cars in Kerala, including to prominent actors. All three individuals are now under Customs surveillance.
To impress buyers, the racket produced forged sale certificates bearing counterfeit seals of the Field 9 Ordnance Depot (9 OFOD) of the Indian Army, located in Kandrori in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh.
The first clue to the racket emerged when Customs seized a container carrying dismantled luxury cars in Coimbatore two years ago.
Customs Preventive Commissioner, T Tiju, recently stated that over 200 Bhutan-registered vehicles are suspected of operating in India.
In the press conference on 24th September, Customs Commissioner, T Tiju, stated that the racket, based in Coimbatore, sourced luxury used cars from Bhutan and smuggled them into India using forged documents.
The network allegedly used Indian Army insignia, forged US Embassy documents and fake government seals to bypass checks. Vehicles included high-end SUVs such as Land Cruisers and Land Rovers, etc.
T Tiju, said, “These cars were likely smuggled through three methods, either in a completely knocked-down condition, concealed in containers, or driven across the Indo-Bhutan border using permits issued to tourists travelling to India.”
The Parivahan portal that registers vehicles in India was also found to have been manipulated either by hacking into the system or through moles planted by the racket.
The Enforcement Directorate is joining the probe looking at the money laundering angle.
There is suspicion if these vehicles were used to smuggle gold.
