Apple’s iPhones are big business in China. So big that an alleged supplier of knock-off iPhones in the country produced at least 40,000 units, before local police shut down the massive operation.
Beijing authorities have arrested nine suspects, and confiscated over 1,400 fake handsets of different brands, as part of an investigation into the supplier, the city’s police force announced on Sunday.
The supplier, based in Beijing, allegedly established one of the largest knock-off phone operations found in recent years, according to the police. Since January, the supplier produced over 41,000 fake iPhones, along with 66,000 smartphone circuit boards, for a value of over US$19.7 million.
Beijing police began its investigation after a batch of fake smartphones were found shipped to the U.S. Chinese authorities then found that a 43-year-old man, surnamed Yu, and his wife had set up a factory in Beijing back in 2011, geared toward electronics repair.
At the same time, local suppliers in the country have also been seeking to cash in on the iPhone’s popularity. Both new iPhones, and even older ones are in demand. In Shenzhen, for instance, an entire mall has been set up devoted to selling secondhand iPhones that are refurbished for resale.
