The Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Saturday apprehended five members of an interstate gang involved in sophisticated e-commerce fraud targeting major platforms, including Flipkart and Amazon. Authorities seized goods and equipment valued at Rs20.5 lakh.
The arrested individuals are Ramlal alias Romil Gehlot (27), Manoj Kumar Mali (30), Bharat Kumar Sundesha (25), Vishal Panchal (29) from Jalore, Rajasthan, and Vishal Bavri from Surat. Two other members, Rishipal Bhati and Vinod, remain at large.
The gang operated across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Jalore. They infiltrated the logistics chain to replace genuine electronics with dummy products. Using multiple fake accounts, they intercepted high-value orders before delivery, replaced the products with identical-looking fakes, and marked the orders as “cancelled” or “returned.” The stolen items were then sold in the market for profit.
Police seized eight genuine mobile phones, 25 dummy phones, three dummy earbuds, 12 dummy gaming processors, a camera lens, an electric hair dryer, and other tools, along with a Mahindra Scorpio used for transport.
During questioning, the accused admitted to previous frauds, including thefts of iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro devices in Vadodara, Apple Watches in Surat, and Apple Watches in Jalore.
The case is registered at Ahmedabad’s Detection of Crime Branch under Sections 61(2)(a) and 316(5) of the IPC. Authorities have urged online shoppers to exercise caution and warned that strict legal action will follow against fraudsters.
