Marijuana worth over Rs 1 crore smuggled to Madhya Pradesh via Amazon: Report

Police said the investigation has revealed that around a tonne of ganja was smuggled through Amazon over the past four months

Ecommerce giant Amazon is under scanner of Madhya Pradesh police after 20 kg ganja was found with two persons, who used the online shopping platform for smuggling the contraband from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to the central Indian state, The New Indian Express reported.

Police said the investigation revealed that around a tonne of ganja was smuggled through Amazon over the past four months. The two men, Suraj alias Kallu Pavaiya, a native of Morar in Gwalior, and Pintu alias Bijendra Singh Tomar, who runs a roadside dhaba in Bhind district, were held with 20 kg of the contraband.

"Monetary transactions worth Rs 1.10 crore had taken place during the last four months,” Bhind district police superintendent Manoj Kumar Singh told the publication. About 66 per cent of the transactions' worth went to the company owned by the world's richest man.

After the duo was questioned by the cops, an aide of them was picked up in Uttarakhand's Haridwar. The ganja sourced through the online site was primarily sold from a roadside dhaba in Bhind. It was also pushed to other cities like Bhopal and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, to Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Kota in Rajasthan.

“The issue was notified to us and we are currently investigating it. We assure full co-operation and support required to Investigating Authorities and Law Enforcement agencies with ongoing investigations to resolve the issue at the earliest,” said Amazon’s spokesperson.

'Registered as seller of curry leaves'

The racket's mastermind Suraj Pavaiya had registered on Amazon as a seller of herbal products and curry leaves using details of a Gujarat-based textile company, according to the news publication. He also managed to generate a barcode from the portal.

Amazon may face the wrath of the authorities as police claimed that the ecommerce giant failed on multiple counts to check the sale of the substance through its website. The police will further send a notice to the company. "If further probe establishes that the online shopping platform too is at fault and part of the crime, then it will be booked under 29 NDPS Act,” the Bhind district police chief said.

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