Fake iPhone Factory Foiled in Dhaka
An illegal iPhone assembly factory operating in the capital under the direct supervision of Chinese nationals has been busted by the Detective Branch (DB) of police. The factory had been assembling counterfeit iPhones using smuggled mobile phone components to evade taxes and supplying them to the local market. The fraudulent operation had reportedly been running for nearly one and a half years.
The information was disclosed at a press briefing held at the DMP Media Center on Thursday afternoon, January 8, by Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the Detective–Mirpur Division, Mohiuddin Mahmud Sohel. He said that based on secret intelligence, DB police conducted simultaneous raids on January 7 in Sector 17 of Uttara and Nikunja-1 in the capital.
During the raids, one suspect was arrested from the Uttara location along with 58 mobile phones, while two Chinese nationals were arrested from Nikunja-1 with a total of 305 mobile phones. Law enforcement officials also recovered various iPhone components, machinery used for assembling phone parts, and foreign liquor during the operation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate illegally brought separate iPhone components into Dhaka from abroad and set up a secret lab where the parts were assembled to produce counterfeit mobile phones resembling original iPhones. These fake devices were then sold in the market as genuine iPhones.
DC Mohiuddin Mahmud Sohel said the group had been running the illegal operation for around one and a half years and is believed to have supplied a large number of counterfeit phones to the market during this period.
When asked whether any Bangladeshi nationals were involved, he said several names had emerged during the investigation but could not be disclosed at this stage for the sake of the inquiry. He also urged the public to remain cautious when purchasing mobile phones.
Many consumers, he warned, are falling victim to fraud due to the lure of “original iPhones” being sold at unusually low prices. He advised buyers to purchase mobile phones only from authorized and official showrooms or trusted sources.
DBTech/JNU/EK/OR
