2 Rajasthan men arrested for cheating Amazon of Rs 1.29 crore by fooling delivery agents

Amazon approached the police after it found out that the accused have been swapping stickers of delivery boxes. (Representational image)

Two men from Rajasthan have been arrested in Mangaluru for cheating Amazon of Rs 1.29 crore while travelling across several states. The accused Raj Kumar Meena (23) and Subhash Gurjar (27) have cases against them filed in Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Describing their modus operandi, the police said that Gurjar and Meena would order high-value cameras and laptops on Amazon along with some other items of lower value, using fake identities. At the time of delivery, they would distract the delivery agents and swap the stickers of the high and low-value items. Most expensive gadgets bought online need an OTP during delivery, while others require an OTP for cash on delivery. After swapping the stickers, the accused would give the wrong OTPs to the delivery personnel and eventually cancel the order, The New Indian Express reported.

The matter came to light after Amazon’s delivery partner, Mahindra Logistics, discovered the Gurjar and Meena's tactic and reported the matter to the tech giant. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal told the publication that the accused were involved in 11 other cases involving high-end cameras, iPhones, and laptops, each costing over Rs 10 lakh.

The accused were caught during their recent fraud when they placed an order for two Sony cameras and ten other items on September 21, using a fake name 'Amrith'. The products were to be delivered to an address near the KSRTC bus stand in the city. During delivery, Meena shared the OTP for some of the low-cost items while Gurjar swapped the original stickers on the Sony camera boxes with stickers of the other items. They then shared incorrect OTPs for the cameras and sent the delivery agent away before cancelling the order for the gadgets.

Mahindra Logistics inspected the matter and found that the stickers of the boxes were switched. They reported the matter to Amazon who confirmed the fraudulent activity after an investigation and alerted the police. The authorities arrested Meena and Gurjar and seized Rs 11.45 lakh in cash from them. They had acquired the money by selling the Sony cameras.