Gang that exchanged Amazon goods with bricks busted, 9 held by Thane police

The Thane Police Crime Branch has busted a gang that allegedly cheated online giant Amazon and its customers. Police have made a total of nine arrests, including a shopkeeper at Manish Market. According to sources, the investigation began when several people from the area lodged an FIR in January. “The goods people ordered from Amazon and had to be returned due to wrong address or other reasons were disappearing. Instead, the despatch companies received bricks and stones,” explained an officer from the Crime Branch.

The accused, who were working with the delivery firm that was receiving the goods for Amazon, were opening the packages and swapping the valuables with stones, police discovered. “While investigating, we encountered broken seals on packages inside the godown of the delivery firm. We interrogated some of the men working there and they confessed to the crime,” said a senior officer from the Crime Branch.

“When the delivery firm is unable to deliver a certain article, it is supposed to be sealed and sent back to the company that shipped them. These accused were stealing those articles and selling them,” the officer further explained. The accused include the delivery boys and a tempo driver who used to ferry the goods. “Over 400 mobile phones and close to 20 TVs and other gadgets were stolen. They used to sell the stolen goods to a shopkeeper, identified as Mrigesh Dhruv, in Manish Market. We have arrested all of them,” said Mukund Hatote, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Police are now trying to recover the stolen goods. “While some of the items were sold to the customers, several others had broken down and sold as spare parts. We are investigating who the customers were,” said an officer privy to investigation.