Kochi police have summoned a New Delhi-based broker as part of Operation Numkhor, a major crackdown on luxury car smuggling from Bhutan.

Ernakulam Central Police asked Rohit Bedi of Lajpat Nagar to appear in person after he requested more time following an earlier notice in January. While Bedi has reportedly denied involvement, the investigation focuses on a case where a Kochi resident allegedly lost ₹14 lakh.

Embassy scam tricks Kochi buyer

The case centres on 22-year-old Mohammed Yahya from Edappally. He was reportedly persuaded to buy a Toyota Land Cruiser at a low price, which was falsely claimed to be a former Indian Embassy vehicle.

Believing the diplomatic story, Yahya made several payments between June and July 2024: ₹50,000 in cash, ₹4.5 lakh via bank transfer, ₹5 lakh in cash delivered by his friend Shibin Ahmed in Delhi, and a final ₹4 lakh by bank transfer the same day.

Customs later seized the SUV, which had Himachal Pradesh plates, showing it was illegally imported and not an embassy vehicle.

Forged documents and wide smuggling network

Investigators say this scam is part of a larger pattern. Syndicates reportedly use Bhutan’s lower taxes to import luxury cars illegally. They allegedly forge No Objection Certificates from trusted organisations, including the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Army, and the U.S. Embassy.

Vehicles are then registered in states such as Arunachal Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh to hide their origin before being sold to wealthy buyers in southern India. A Coimbatore-based network is said to manage these fake registrations.

So far, Operation Numkhor has seized 49 high-value vehicles. The scandal reached celebrity circles, with the Enforcement Directorate raiding 17 locations, including homes of actors Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj, and Amit Chakkalackal.

Bedi now faces charges under Sections 406 and 420 for criminal breach of trust and cheating. The scale of the smuggling was reportedly discussed during talks between Indian and Bhutanese Home Secretaries last October.