The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted a high-profile sweep against several Malayalam superstars. Two officers and a team of CRPF officials reached Mammootty’s property in Chennai, as per an India Today report. However, PTI confirmed that premises linked to actors Prithviraj, Dulquer Salman and Amit Chakkalackal were also raided. This comes after scrutiny of the Kerala luxury car smuggling case related to the illegal movement of vehicles from Bhutan to India.

In addition to the probe into Mammootty‘s production house site, ED’s Kochi Zonal Office also launched extensive search operations at 17 locations. The investigation into unauthorised foreign exchange transactions also brought forward several reports, which revealed a well-organised syndicate responsible for the illegal activities. Authorities suspect that the body used forged documents and shell entities to evade customs duties and launder foreign currency.

This comes after customs authorities extracted 36 luxury cars from 30 locations in Kerala, which were bought in Bhutan using forged documents. Amid the raid on these Malayalam superstars, Dulquer Salman had been directed by the Kerala High Court to approach the adjudicating authority under the Customs Act, 1962, to release his Land Rover Defender provisionally. It was seized during the crackdown, called ‘Operation Numkhor’.

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Autoshops, vehicle owners, workshops, and traders are all under the radar in locations like Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kottayam, and Coimbatore. In fact, preliminary investigation revealed that the forged documents claimed ties to the Indian Army, the US Embassy, and the Ministry of External Affairs. They were further used to register fraudulent vehicles in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Mammootty is set to star in a political espionage thriller, Patriot. The Mahesh Narayanan directorial has wrapped up its Hyderabad schedule of shooting and is set to resume later this month in the United Kingdom, as per reports. Mammootty, however, was allegedly in Chennai after the Hyderabad shoot.