The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has uncovered a luxury car import scam where vehicles were undervalued by nearly 50% to dodge Customs duties.
Political connections suspected
Hyderabad-based importer Barshad Khan Pathan has been arrested by the DRI’s Ahmedabad zone, with a Hummer EV seized from his possession.
According to officials, Pathan imported eight high-end vehicles and evaded over 7 crore in customs duty. He has been sent to judicial custody by the Ahmedabad CJM court. Sources claim Pathan may have had strong political connections that aided his smuggling operations.
Global route of deception
The DRI investigation uncovered a complex international route used to smuggle the luxury vehicles. The cars were first shipped from the USA and Japan to transit points like Dubai or Sri Lanka, where they were modified — including conversion from left-hand to right-hand drive.
After these changes, the vehicles were sent to Indian ports. Importers then used fake documents with undervalued prices to evade paying full customs duty.
Nationwide luxury car network exposed
Over 30 luxury vehicles were smuggled into the country using this scheme, including Hummer EVs, Cadillac Escalades, Rolls Royce, Lexus models, Toyota Land Cruisers, and Lincoln Navigators.
These high-end cars were imported by individuals from cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi. Officials estimate that the total customs duty evaded exceeds 25 crore.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is continuing its investigation and tracking down other possible importers and users linked to this large-scale scam.