BEIJING: As many as nine people were arrested over running a fake Apple factory which had manufactured 41,000 iPhones.
The operation reportedly involved “hundreds” of workers repackaging second hand smartphone parts as new iPhones for export, with the counterfeit phones produced worth 120m yuan ($19m).
Beijing’s public security bureau on Sunday discovered the factory on 14 May. The operation was set up in January.
It was led by a husband and wife team, on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital, according to Beijing authorities.
They said they had been alerted to the factory by US authorities which had seized some of the fake phones.
The reports come amid an official Chinese crackdown on counterfeit goods, with authorities pushing firms to trademark their goods.
