Senior Amazon executives in the region have been indicted on narcotics charges in connection with an investigation into marijuana smuggling through the online retailer, according to police.
On November 14, police in Madhya Pradesh arrested two men after discovering that they were attempting to smuggle 20 kilogrammes of marijuana out of the country disguised as stevia leaves, an all-natural sweetener purchased from Amazon India.
The company’s executive directors have been named as suspects under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, according to an official statement from the Indian Police Department, due to discrepancies in their answers to police questions and facts discovered during discussions.
According to the authorities, the number of executives charged by the police has not been made public.
According to the police, who had previously interviewed Amazon executives involved in the case, a total of 1,000 kilogrammes of marijuana, with a street value of $148,000, were sold on Amazon.
Amazon did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Although the company initially stated that it was investigating whether a seller had violated the terms of their contract, it has since changed its tune.
In recent years, efforts to combat illegal drugs have increased. Since last year, narcotics investigators have been looking into a number of well-known actors and television personalities.
