‘Luxury car smuggler got Indian embassy help’

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The Indian embassy in UAE allowed Alex C. Joseph, who smuggled in nearly 450 luxury cars from the Gulf countries between 1997 and 2000 through several Indian ports including Kochi, to renew his passport even after it was informed by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) that he was a wanted man; this has been revealed now.

Alex, 50, a native of Thiruvalla, made his millions by misusing the transfer of residency (TR) provision meant for NRIs, for smuggling cars.

He is a free man now after the Kerala High Court released him last April, considering his plea against preventive detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA). Alex is legally fighting the smuggling cases slapped by the Customs Department on him.

According to DRI sources, Alex is a high-profile man having close links with top politicians in Kerala and New Delhi. “A frequent traveller to New Delhi, he used to stay in the house now occupied by BJP leader LK Advani.

It is obvious that he used his connections in government to renew his passport,” sources said. It is also suspected that the Thiruvalla police which handed him back his seized original passport, was acting under orders from higher-ups.

It was in November 2011 that Alex, travelling by the name Abey John, was arrested by the immigration department at Rajiv Gandhi international airport in Hyderabad.

Palarivattom police had filed a case against him for using a forged passport under the Passport Act.

According to the DRI, Alex smuggled in at least one luxury car, priced between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore, every week between 1997 and 2,000, making use of the opportunity of non-availability of high-end cars like Mercedez Benz and BMW.

These cars were sold mainly to film personalities and politicians in Mumbai. He stopped the practice after the DRI issued a notice against him in 2000.

By this time, top car makers had also started their units in India, making smuggling irrelevant. According to the DRI, he paid cash incentives to NRIs who allowed their passports to be used by him for smuggling.