Two students were arrested for allegedly cheating e-commerce retailers, Amazon and Flipkart, by ordering electronic gadgets and replacing them with sand and returning parcels, police said.
On credible information Commissioner’s Task Force, Central Zone Team arrested Yahiya Mohammad Ishaque and Mohammad Shahroz Ansari yesterday, said a release from Hyderabad Police.
The accused, who are related to each other, hail from Gondia district in Maharashtra. Ishaque, who has been residing in Golconda for a year, had registered as a book seller in Amazon and was selling books online, police added
In last four months, the two accused placed online orders for electronic goods like mobile phones, laptops, cameras, DVDs etc, on Flipkart and Amazon.
“According to their plan, when the representative of the firm came to deliver the booking order, Ishaque used to receive the item and his brother-in-law, Ansari, used to stay with the delivery boy outside the house,” police said explaining on their modus operandi.
With his experience, Yahiya decided to cheat the e-tailers and sought Ansari’s help. Subsequently, Yahiya and Ansari placed orders on Flipkart and Amazon for electronic items like laptop, camera and cell phone. “When the delivery executive brings the product to Yahiya’s house, he receives the item while Ansari stays put with the delivery boy outside the house. Yahiya takes the package inside and carefully opens it. Yahiya then takes the product out, fills the package with sand and deftly seals it,” deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Task Force, B Limba Reddy said.
On the pretext of bringing his debit card, Ishaque used to take the parcel inside the house remove the seal very tactfully. He would then take out the item and replace it with equal weight sand and re-seal the box, police said.
“After that he would come along with the parcel and debit card. When the delivery boy used to swipe the debit card, it showed that the card was declined. After this, Ishaque used to return the parcel to the delivery boy and take back his debit card,” police said.
Using this modus operandi, the accused had stolen three high-end mobile phones, a laptop, a digital camera and other electronic gadgets, which were recovered from them.
