Chinese police have found a company that is making a lucrative business out of selling fake iPhones. According to Wallstreet Journal, the operation involves six hidden operation lines and some hundreds of workers that produce the counterfeit goods. The fake iPhones join the many counterfeit products from the country that have made their way around the world.
The sale of the fake iPhones has been discovered after fake handsets were delivered to the U.S. The Beijing police released a statement saying they have cracked down a company, which they left unnamed, that mass produced, exported, delivered and sold 41,000 units of fake iPhones, and 66,000 units of fake ribbon cable wires. The sales have yielded around $19.4 million for the company this year. They have also indicated that nine suspects in the manufacturing of counterfeit smartphones are already taken under police custody.
The massive sale of fake iPhones has reportedly begun from a Chinese couple who bought used mobile phone parts in the U.S. and fake parts from a Shenzhen tech store. The couple hails from Shenzhen and has hired hundreds of workers to operate on the sale of counterfeits. The operation lines are said to be disguised as an electronics maintenance shop in Beijing.
Apple has not commented on the issue. The company has been enjoying rapid growing sales in the country, with a 112% increase of revenues this year. China is also fast becoming a home for popular tech startups, bringing Xiaomi and OnePlus, among others, to the mainstream smartphone market. Xiaomi has reportedly sold 35 million smartphone units this year.
iPhones dominate the mobile market, recording its biggest shipment of units earlier this month. The device is no stranger to being counterfeited. China has had previous incidences of knockoff Apple products, which includes iPods. This recent iPhone case is said to be the biggest sale of such products.