Five arrested from Gujarat and Rajasthan for swapping high-value electronics with dummy items in online deliveries

Ahmedabad: A suspected case of parcel tampering has unravelled into an organised e-commerce fraud spanning Gujarat and Rajasthan. Five persons from Jalore, Ahmedabad and Surat have been arrested by the city crime branch. According to police, the gang allegedly infiltrated delivery networks. The accused allegedly ordered expensive electronics through fake accounts and intercepted consignments during transit. They would replace genuine gadgets with dummy devices that were later returned, while the authentic products were sold illegally.The case surfaced on Thursday when a Naroda-based courier firm approached the detection of crime branch (DCB), alleging organised fraud in Flipkart deliveries. The complainant, Rishabh Pal, who runs RSA Logistics in Naroda, reported that repeated instances of high-value mobile phones and smartwatches being replaced with dummy devices had caused losses exceeding Rs 4.3 lakh. The discrepancies were flagged in late Jan after unusual cancellations and tampering patterns were noticed.The firm employs around 60 delivery executives and operates through a technology-enabled tracking system.Crime branch investigation revealed that the accused infiltrated courier and last-mile delivery networks, tampering with parcels before they reached customers. Inputs indicated repeated complaints of missing or replaced electronics in consignments moving through Ahmedabad and nearby cities. The probe further uncovered links extending to Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat in Gujarat as well as Jalore in Rajasthan, suggesting coordinated activity across state lines.Following a tip-off, the cops identified the person involved in the scam.The arrested accused have been identified as Ramlal Gahlot (27) of Jalore; Manojkumar Mali (30) of Jalore; Bharatkumar Mali (25) of Jalore; Vishal Panchal (29) of Katargam in Surat; and Vishal Bavri of Nobelnagar in Ahmedabad, who originally hails from Jalore. Two other suspects — Rishipal Bhati and Vinod, both residents of Jalore — are absconding.Police said they recovered goods worth Rs 20.52 lakh, including eight mobile phones, 25 dummy phones, three dummy earbuds, 12 dummy gaming processors, a camera lens and an electric hair dryer. Further investigation is underway to identify additional beneficiaries and quantify the total losses caused to e-commerce platforms and logistics partners.