Defrauding Delivery Partners: How Two Men Stole Cameras and iPhones Valued at Lakhs from Amazon
Defrauding Delivery Partners: How Two Men Stole Cameras and iPhones Valued at Lakhs from Amazon
Accused reportedly looted goods worth over Rs 1.29 crore through deceptive deliveries; multiple fraud cases span eight states.
Mangaluru’s Urwa police have apprehended two men accused of defrauding Amazon and other e-commerce platforms of high-value goods like iPhones and Sony cameras, with an estimated haul exceeding Rs 1.29 crore. Raj Kumar Meena (23) and Subhash Gurjar (27), both from Rajasthan, allegedly executed a scheme that involved fake orders, identity theft and item swapping across eight Indian states.
The accused reportedly used false identities to place orders for high-value items and provided a fake delivery address in Mangaluru. On September 21, they placed an order for two Sony cameras and ten other items, listing the recipient as “Amith” at an address near the KSRTC bus stand. During delivery, one suspect distracted the delivery partner while the other covertly swapped the labels on the boxes, leaving counterfeit items behind. Raj Kumar then provided an incorrect OTP, which delayed the delivery confirmation, and assured the delivery partner that they would collect the order the following day. Shortly after, they cancelled the order but retained the genuine items, later selling them to profit from the deceit.
This pattern of tricking delivery agents has led to multiple fraud cases registered in states including Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Amazon’s logistics partner, Mahindra Logistics, initially detected the fraud by cross-checking delivery labels, prompting Amazon to notify law enforcement. A police investigation confirmed the suspects’ involvement and tracked their movements via CCTV at the delivery site and the airport.
Raj Kumar was first apprehended by the Salem police for a similar case in Tamil Nadu, before being transferred to Urwa police custody under a body warrant on October 18. His interrogation helped lead to Subhash’s arrest in Mangaluru on October 28. Authorities have recovered Rs 11.45 lakh in cash from the sale of stolen goods, which has been submitted to the court.
The police, under the guidance of senior officials and Inspector Bharathi, continue to investigate the duo’s network and possible connections with other regional cases. They are now held on multiple charges under Sections 346, 350(1), 323, and 319(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), with law enforcement focusing on the broader implications of e-commerce fraud in India.
