According to the report, Gupta, an engineering student staying in North Bengaluru, has been part of a gang run by an ex-Amazon employee where they used to fake the return of expensive gadgets like iPhones and MacBooks.

Details say Gupta — with the help of a friend — faked returns of 16 iPhones and 2 Macbooks. His friend, in the meantime, used to manipulate the backend system to show that the item has been returned, and Gupta used to get the required refund for all the items without any suspicion.

The purchase included iPhone 14 Pro Max worth ₹1.27 lakh purchased on 15 May, iPhone 14 worth ₹84,999 bought on 16 May, and two iPhone 14 models worth ₹90,999 and ₹84,999 bought on 17 May, said the report.

Also, all the transactions were using credit cards and UPI transactions, worth ₹3.4 lakh.

With complaints overflooding, Amazon grew suspicious of Gupta’s purchasing habits and the firm found out that the items were not returned.

Amazingly, all the items were bought from the same address, marked as ‘returned’, but never reached the inventory.

On inspection, police reportedly seized gadgets worth ₹20.34 lakh from Gupta. It also froze ₹30 lakh in multiple bank accounts linked to the accused.

One more surprising element that came from the probe was that Gupta and his friend were selling these items via crypto transactions, where Gupta would receive a commission from profits earned on each item.

Updated: 22 Aug 2023, 06:36 PM IST