Madhya Pradesh police on November 15 summoned Amazon India executives as part of an investigation into whether the platform was used for smuggling marijuana. According to a first information report seen by MediaNama, the Bhind district police last Saturday arrested two men with 21 kg of marijuana under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The drug was held in Amazon-branded packaging, the report stated. This incident doesn't bode well for the e-commerce giant as it already faces numerous challenges in India including an antitrust investigation by the Competition Commission of India, a legal battle with Future Retail, bribery allegations, and the proposed e-commerce rules that tighten the noose around e-commerce companies. An Amazon spokesperson said that the company is investigating the incident and would give its full cooperation and support to the authorities. What's Amazon's role? Upon further inspection, the police found that smugglers used Amazon to order and deliver the drug to various states by listing the substance as dry stevia leaves (a natural food sweetener), Bhind Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh said according to Reuters. The Amazon platform was allegedly used for 1,000 kgs of marijuana sales worth over ₹1 crore so far, Singh added. "There is involvement of Amazon at many levels in this marijuana delivery - from providing logistical support to delivery." – SP Manoj Singh The smugglers ran a company under a fake name with PAN and GST number and sourced the marijuana from Visakhapatnam and transported it to Gwalior, Bhopal, Kota, Agra, and other cities using Amazon's logistics,…
