Supply-chain rip-off: Ahmedabad police dismantle gadget-swapping interstate syndicate | Ahmedabad Information

AHEMDABAD: The Ahmedabad City Crime Branch has busted a classy interstate gang that allegedly cheated main e-commerce platforms, together with Flipkart and Amazon, by infiltrating their supply provide chains and swapping premium devices with dummy merchandise, police mentioned on Saturday. Officials mentioned the syndicate positioned its associates as supply boys in courier companies throughout cities similar to Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Jalore. Using a number of faux person IDs and passwords, the gang would place orders for costly electronics. Before the parcels reached prospects, an insider would intercept the cargo. Using specialised instruments, the accused rigorously opened the packages, eliminated the unique high-end units and changed them with lookalike dummies. The orders had been then cancelled or marked for return, whereas the stolen devices had been bought within the gray marketplace for revenue, police mentioned. In the operation, the Crime Branch arrested 5 individuals — Ramlal alias Romil Gahlot, Manoj Kumar Mali, Bharat Kumar Sundesha, Vishal Hasmukhbhai Panchal and Vishal Kanjibhai Bavri. Two others, Rishipal Bhati and Vinod, are on the run. During the crackdown, police recovered eight real cellphones, 25 dummy telephones, three dummy earbuds, 12 dummy gaming processors, a digicam lens and an electrical hair dryer. During questioning, the accused confessed to a number of comparable frauds in current months. Police mentioned the gang fraudulently obtained an iPhone 17 Pro Max and three iPhone 16 Pro models in Vadodara in January 2026, stole seven cellphones and 10 Apple Watches in Surat in October 2025, and took two Apple Watches in Jalore in December 2025. Sections 61(2)(a) and 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) have been invoked in opposition to the accused, and additional investigation is underway to hint the remaining suspects and wider hyperlinks of the racket.