Flipkart Delivery Agent Flicks 12 IPhones By Defrauding Employer

• A 21-year-old BCom graduate working as a Flipkart delivery agent allegedly stole 12 iPhones worth 5 lakh

• B Naveen placed the orders using fake addresses in Washermenpet (he is in charge of the delivery area) and took the phones

• Investigations revealed that he had been doing this for the past one month based on the suggestion of an advocate

You have finally saved enough money to buy the latest smartphone. You log on to a trusted website to place the order. But when you get the product, you realize that it’s a fake. Beware! This could be your fate. Your parcel could be easily tampered with.

A 21-year-old BCom graduate working as a Flipkart delivery agent allegedly stole 12 iPhones worth 5 lakh and replaced them with fake products. B Naveen placed the orders using fake addresses in Washermenpet (he is in charge of the delivery area) and took the phones. He then replaced the original products with fake ones and returned the parcels to the company, claiming they were given back by unsatisfied customers.

The incident came to light when the company grew suspicious about phones being returned in bulk over the past one month. An internal enquiry found that the phones were returned mainly from the Chennai courier office and they found that the phones that were returned were fake .

Warehouse owner Vetriselvam lodged a complaint at the Madhavram police. The needle of suspicion fell on Naveen, who joined the firm four months ago. He was assigned to deliver phones in north Chennai.

Investigations revealed that he had been doing this for the past one month based on the suggestion of an advocate.

Police sources said that Naveen initially ordered just one phone using a fake address and replaced it with a fake one, which he bought from Ritchie Street. He sent it back to the warehouse claiming that it was returned by a customer.

“As he didn’t get caught, he decided to follow the same modus operandi,” said K Shankar, inspector, Madhavaram police station.
Later, he decided to order more and the value of stolen phones touched over 5 lakh.

Naveen, who completed BCom this year from a college in Kodungayur, was placed through a management firm in Guindy. He had been working as a delivery agent in north Chennai area for the past six months, police said.

Since there are CCTV cameras in his office in Madhavaram, he did not operate there. He undertook the entire operation at home, police said.

“His salary was not adequate to repay loans. He led a luxurious life in college by borrowing money from several friends,” said an investigating officer. He is a first-time offender and confessed to the crime after police grilled him, said the officer.

Naveen was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.