Amazon Forced To Deal With Police In India, After Their E-commerce Platform Was Used To Trade Marijuana.

Amazon.com's e-commerce platform is used to trade cannabis in India. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Police in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have summoned local executives of Amazon.com Inc to investigate a case in which the e-commerce platform is suspected to have been used to smuggle marijuana, Monday, November 15.

Police on Sunday arrested two men in the state who were in possession of 20kg of marijuana. Police also found that they used the Amazon India shopping site to order and smuggle the banned substance in India further into various states.

Smugglers use Amazon India's platform to order and ship the drug, which is registered under the guise of the dried stevia leaf, a natural food sweetener. Amazon's platform has allegedly been used to smuggle and sell 1.000 kilograms of marijuana so far. Police suspect there was a transaction amounting to USD 148.000 from the trade.

On Monday, November 15, Manoj Singh, a senior police official in the district, said Amazon executives had been asked to explain how their platform could be used for the sale of banned substances.

"International companies have the power of artificial intelligence, so this is a big thing happening on their platforms," Singh said. "There is Amazon's involvement at many levels in this cannabis shipment - from providing logistical support to shipping. A lawyer from Amazon may be visiting us tomorrow."

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that they were investigating whether there was any non-compliance by the seller.

"We do not allow the listing and sale of products that are prohibited by law for sale in India," the statement said, adding that the company would cooperate with the authorities on the matter.

This US company in India operates a marketplace website where sellers can list their products and Amazon also provides logistics and warehouse services to them.

Police officer Singh said his team also visited one of the Amazon delivery centers in the city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, as part of an investigation to obtain details of the alleged shipment of marijuana.

Indian authorities have in recent years intensified their efforts to crack down on illegal drugs. Many high-profile Indian actors and TV personalities have been under the scrutiny of narcotics officials since last year.