Ahmedabad, Feb 8 : The Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Saturday arrested five members of a sophisticated interstate gang involved in defrauding major e-commerce platforms, including Flipkart and Amazon, and seized goods and equipment worth Rs 20.5 lakh.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Ramlal alias Romil Gehlot (27), Manoj Kumar Mali (30), Bharat Kumar Sundesha (25), Vishal Panchal (29), all residents of Jalore, Rajasthan, and Vishal Bavri, a resident of Surat.

Two other members, Rishipal Bhati and Vinod, remain at large.

The gang operated across cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Jalore. They infiltrated the logistics chain to replace genuine electronic items with dummy products.

Using multiple fake user IDs and passwords, the gang placed orders for high-value gadgets, which were intercepted by their delivery personnel before reaching customers.

Specialised tools were used to remove genuine products carefully and replace them with identical-looking dummy items.

Orders were then officially marked as â??cancelledâ?? or â??returnedâ??, after which the gang sold the real products in the market for illegal profit.

An official told IANS, â??We are currently investigating more directions. These five were arrested as part of the primary investigation. Weâ??ll analyse and reach the root of the case.â??

Police have seized eight genuine mobile phones, 25 dummy phones, three dummy earbuds, 12 dummy gaming processors, a camera lens, an electric hair dryer, three glue remover bottles, 14 plastic syringes, two steel tools used to tamper with parcels, packaging material, and a Mahindra Scorpio vehicle used to transport the goods.

During questioning, the accused admitted to previous frauds, including the theft of an iPhone 17 Pro Max and three iPhone 16 Pro devices in Vadodara in January this year, seven mobile phones and 10 Apple Watches in Surat in October 2025, and two Apple Watches in Jalore in December 2025.

The case has been registered at the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) Police Station in the city and is being investigated under Sections 61(2)(a) and 316(5) of the Indian Penal Code.

Authorities have urged customers to remain vigilant while shopping online and warned that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found involved in such fraudulent activities.

/IANS