Overview

• Searches under FEMA covered residences and establishments linked to actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, Dulquer Salmaan and Amit Chakkalackal, plus dealers and workshops across Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam and Coimbatore.
• Preliminary findings cite forged documents purportedly from the Indian Army, US Embassy and MEA, fraudulent RTO registrations in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, and sales to high‑net‑worth buyers at undervalued prices.
• The action follows Customs’ Operation Numkhor that seized about three dozen high‑value cars in late September, with Dulquer allowed by the Kerala High Court to seek provisional release of a seized vehicle through the Customs adjudicating process.
• Separately on October 7, ED searched roughly 15–16 premises in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Mumbai in a tech‑support call‑centre laundering probe that impersonated major companies and police, used BSOD pop‑ups, and routed victim funds into cryptocurrencies and gift cards with wallets showing multi‑million‑dollar flows.
• In parallel on October 8, ED searched eight Mumbai locations in a drugs‑linked laundering case tied to Faisal Javed Shaikh and Alfiya Faisal Shaikh, with officials tracing MD (mephedrone) supply links to wanted trafficker Salim Dola.