After Bhind police in Madhya Pradesh busted an online marijuana sale racket, Visakhapatnam Police has also recovered 48 kgs of marijuana (ganja) from an Amazon delivery partner.

Visakhapatnam police have filed an FIR on November 20 against five suspects under the NDPS (Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 1985. The FIR has noted recovering brown cardboard boxes, two Amazon covers and Amazon cello tape and blade from the suspects, along with the banned drug. According to sources, two Amazon delivery boys have also been arrested by the Visakhapatnam police.

Further, MP police have also recovered another lot of 17 kgs of marijuana from Amazon and its partners for which an FIR has been registered at the Mehgaon Police Station in Madhya Pradesh under NDPS Act-1985 and a person has been arrested. Last week, Bhind police in Madhya Pradesh busted an online marijuana sale racket, which led to two arrests and seizure of 20 kgs of the banned drug.

Amazon’s response

Commenting on the issue, an Amazon spokesperson told BusinessLine , “Reports that Amazon executives have been arrested or charged as part of this case are incorrect and we are not aware of any Amazon executives being named in the investigation. On the contrary, Amazon continues to assist with the investigation. There are media reports of third-party delivery contractors being investigated, but we cannot confirm these reports.

“Amazon, as a matter of company policy, extends full co-operation to law enforcement agencies in the event of any bad actor operating on the Amazon.in marketplace. We have shared and will continue to share information that law enforcement needs in their investigation of this case. Amazon has zero-tolerance for misconduct and takes strict action against individuals or third parties for violation of our policies or applicable laws,” the spokesperson added.

Amazon.in is a third-party marketplace (intermediary) where sellers offer their products to customers directly. The spokesperson noted that contractually, sellers operating on Amazon.in marketplace, as well as delivery partners, service providers and their associates, are required to comply with all applicable laws.

Further, Confederation of All India Traders’ (CAIT) National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal have said that keeping in view of the scale of illegality being done by Amazon, the government should immediately suspend Amazon’s operations in India, arrest their officials and also register a case of treason against Amazon.

CAIT representatives also urged Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to release e-commerce rules, e-commerce policy and new press note replacing press note no. 2 of the FDI policy so that conduct of e-commerce companies in India is regulated.

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