15 August,2024 09:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
The delivery boy would remove items returned by customers and deposit empty boxes at the company warehouse. Representation pic
A delivery partner working for an e-commerce company has been arrested for stealing mobile phones and accessories that were ordered online by customers and later returned, or when the customer was not at the registered address. Instead of returning these items to the company's warehouse, the accused would remove or swap the phones and accessories, depositing only empty boxes or boxes containing old items at the warehouse. Rohit Nagpure, 26, was apprehended from Bhiwandi by the Malad police on Monday.
According to police sources, Nagpure worked as a delivery partner with an e-commerce company having an office in Old Sonal Industrial Estate, at Kanchpada in Malad West. As per the complaint filed by an associate leader of the company's Malad branch, the company has 25 employees, including delivery boys who deliver products like cell phones, accessories, clothing, and other electronic devices ordered online. The company has its warehouse in Bhiwandi, and orders placed online were brought to the company's two offices in Mumbai - located in Malad and Goregaon East - from where they were handed over to the delivery boys for distribution to customers.
Nagpure was responsible for transporting goods from Bhiwandi to Mumbai and also returning goods from Mumbai to the Bhiwandi warehouse. However, during a routine check of returned products in February, it was discovered that approximately 70 cell phones and 195 accessories from various brands, worth R11.57 lakh in total, were missing. Upon inspection, several boxes were found to be empty, while others contained old items that had been swapped with the originals.
Subsequently, the company filed a complaint at Malad police station, and Police Sub-Inspector Shivji Shinde initiated an investigation under the guidance of DCP Anand Bhoite and Inspector Ravindra Adhane.
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The investigation progressed using the IMEI numbers of the missing mobile phones. "When the individuals using these phones were located and questioned, it was revealed that they had purchased the phones from Nagpure," said an officer from Malad police station.
Nagpure was arrested in Bhiwandi and produced before the court on Monday. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime, and so far, the police have recovered seven mobile phones. "Further investigations are underway," the officer added.
