Ahmedabad delivery boy held for theft of parcels worth ₹49 lakh

In a swift operation, Khadia police have arrested a 28-year-old delivery boy for allegedly stealing 171 parcels, including 129 high-end mobile phones worth over ₹49 lakh, from an e-commerce distribution network. The accused, police said, splurged the proceeds on leisure trips to Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan.

The arrested man has been identified as Mohammad Shabbir Mansuri, a resident of Astodiya’s Abdulwadi. According to police, Mansuri was employed as a delivery agent with a local distributor handling Amazon consignments in the Khadia area. On 14 July, he was assigned to deliver a consignment of 171 parcels from Naroda godown to a distribution point in Khadia Gol Limda, but failed to complete the deliveries.

When several customers reported non-receipt of their packages, the distribution manager checked and found that 164 mobile phones, including 45 iPhones worth ₹22.5 lakh, along with other gadgets, had gone missing. A formal complaint was lodged, and the case was handed over to Khadia police.

“Initial interrogation revealed that the accused had been absent from work for several days and had decamped with the parcels to fund his personal lifestyle. He sold a large number of the stolen mobile phones at throwaway prices outside Gujarat,” said Chirag Gosai, Inspector-in-Charge, Khadia Police Station.

Police teams traced Mansuri using human intelligence and technical surveillance. He was eventually arrested within hours of being tracked down. Investigators recovered several parcels from his residence, while efforts are underway to trace the buyers of nearly 50 mobile phones he is suspected to have already sold.

Mansuri was produced before a local court on Friday, and police have sought his remand to probe further. “We are investigating where the stolen money was spent and whether others were involved in the racket,” Gosai added.