Kochi, Sep 27 (PTI) Customs officials investigating the smuggling of luxury vehicles from Bhutan said on Saturday that they seized another car belonging to Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan.

With this seizure, the agency has confiscated 40 vehicles in the case, including three linked to the actor.

A red Nissan Patrol SUV was taken into custody from an apartment complex in Vennala, where a relative of Dulquer resides, Customs sources said.

Investigators stated that the SUV was smuggled from Bhutan and brought to Himachal Pradesh, where it was re-registered before being sold to the actor.

According to Customs, details of Dulquer’s four cars are being collected, though all were purchased from previous owners in India.

The development comes a day after Dulquer moved the Kerala High Court seeking the release of one of his seized vehicles—a 2004 Land Rover Defender. In his petition, he contended that the SUV had originally been shipped by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to its regional delegation in New Delhi. PTI TBA SSK

Seizure of smuggled vehicles highlights customs enforcement and tracing of re registration before sale in ongoing probe. Customs officials allege multiple luxury vehicles were smuggled from Bhutan, transported to Himachal Pradesh and re registered before sale; authorities have confiscated vehicles linked to a private individual while collecting prior ownership and registration details as part of an ongoing evidentiary inquiry.