KOCHI: Alex C Joseph, who was detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, (COFEPOSA), had used four fake passports issued in the name of different persons to smuggle luxury cars into the country, said the police on Tuesday.“We could track down five passports being used by him, of which one was his own. Of the other four, three were issued in the name of Aby John, and one in the name of Thomas Mathew,” the police said.The place of residence mentioned in these passports were Thiruvalla and some other unknown places in Kerala, Andhra Pradhesh and New Delhi. “We have questioned him to find out the sources through which he got the passports. We have also taken him to Thiruvalla, his native place, for further inquiry,” the police said.According to the Palarivattom police, the investigation was in its initial stage and it would take some more time to unearth all evidence as some of the passports were obtained giving fake outstation addresses in other states. “We will have to extend the investigation to other states, which is expected to be time-consuming,” the official said.Meanwhile, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials also confirmed that the accused was possessing five passports when he was arrested in Hyderabad in November. “The Andhra police will be investigating the matter,” said Syed Muhammed, DySP, DRI.The police had arrested Alex for possessing a fake passport when he alighted at an airport in Andhra Pradesh.The Customs and Central Excise Department had declared Alex a wanted man after they registered five cases against him for violating the provisions of the Customs Act and the Foreign Trade Regulation Act in 2000. The department had also issued a red corner alert against him. The Customs had accused Alex of smuggling brand new high-end foreign cars into the country as second-hand cars in the name of gulf returnees.
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