Indo-Bhutan meet on Operation Numkhor begins in Munnar

Kochi: An Indo-Bhutan joint customs group and integrated border management summit began in Munnar on Monday. The four-day conference will end on April 23. The summit is likely to see intelligence sharing between the customs formations regarding the ongoing Operation Numkhor launched by the commissionerate of customs (preventive) (CCP) unit in Kochi. Operation Numkhor is CCP's statewide operation that targeted a racket suspected of dealing in cars allegedly smuggled from Bhutan. The cars were allegedly registered using forged documents in other states and resold in Kerala. Several cars, including those sold to celebrities, were seized as part of the operation. The decision to conduct the summit in Kerala achieves significance in the backdrop of Numkhor. Even as sources said that the agenda of the summit is not disclosed, the delegation from Bhutan's customs department is likely to gather information regarding the operation from their counterparts in Kerala. The summit is also expected to address a range of other bilateral concerns. Agencies in Bhutan have already initiated a parallel investigation. The issue was reportedly also discussed during home secretary-level talks between India and Bhutan held in Oct last year, sources said.