Assembling materials for the fake smartphones are imported from countries such as China and the US

Planning to buy a new smartphone any time soon? Looking for best deals online or searching for a cornershop that offers big discounts? Be warned! You may end up with a fake that was assembled in the local market from parts sourced from China.

As recently as last Thursday, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police raided Akasaki, a trusted name in mobile phones and accessories at Lotus Plaza in Karol Bagh, after a tip-off from officials of the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (EIPR).

They not only found counterfeit iPhones, but also all kinds of assembling material for other smartphones. The shop was seized and a huge scam unearthed.

Akasaki is not only one of the major traders in mobile accessories, but also a known supplier to various online portals: from Keematdekh.com to Flipkart, Amazon and Shopclues.com. It is also one of the biggest importers of mobile phones and accessories, with offices in India, China and Africa.

The haul

Cops seized around 28 iPhone5 and six iPhone 6 smartphones, all of which were fake. They also found over 4,300 items of assembling material for iPhones, which included holograms, stickers, packaging material, spare parts, covers etc.

Before the raid took place, an investigation was carried by EIPR, which helps brands look into cases of copyright violation. Apple is one of their clients. EIPR received information about fakes being assembled in Delhi and started their probe.

Police personnel during the raid, which was conducted at Akasaki mobile store in Karol Bagh

Not only counterfeit iPhones, but all kinds of assembling materials for smartphones were also found during the raid

Zaheer Khan, managing director of EIPR, said: “We received information about counterfeit iPhones flooding the market and carried out an investigation to unearth the scam. We zeroed in on Akasaki since it is one of the biggest sellers of mobile phones and accessories, not just in India but in countries like Africa and China as well. The e-portals are equally guilty as no verification is carried out before they source from shops like Akasaki and advertise to buyers.

New market

“These fake iPhones and smartphones are assembled mainly in India and most of the parts are imported from countries like China and Africa. The registered Apple stores in India do not encourage repairs, but only replacement for iPhones which is another reason why such shops selling fake parts are emerging.”

Cops said that as well as iPhones, they found fake mobile phones and accessories of other brands. However, they only seized fake iPhones and accessories as the complainant had only mentioned Apple products.

Police found over 4,300 items of assembling material for iPhones, including holograms, stickers, packaging material, spare parts, and covers

A source in the Delhi police, who was part of the team that raided Akasaki, said: “We raided the store after we were informed about fake mobile phones being assembled in Akasaki mobile store. The manager Mukesh Sharma and one other person manning the shop, Mahendra Singh, were arrested under section 51 and section 63 of the Copyrights Act.”

On the list

The sale of fake smartphones and accessories is also taking place in other metro cities. The famous MIDC commercial market in Andheri, Mumbai, is in the EIPR list of places where fake mobile phones are assembled and sold.

Traders import imitation parts of iPhones and other smartphones, mainly from China, assemble them locally and sell them as originals at heavy discount.

Web portals have fake everything

By Kamana Sharma in New Delhi

If you plan to buy a second-hand iPhone or other smartphone - or any other electronic gadget from an online classifieds marketplace like OLX, quikr or ebay, make sure you do all the necessary inspection. There is a high possibility that they could be fake.

Open offers for purchasing copies of well-known smartphone brands like Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Nokia, Blackberry and much more are being extended by portals like aliexpress.com and alibaba.com.

Not just the phones, but other assembling products required for refurbished sets like LCD’s, mother boards, duplicate bodies etc. are apparently being sold by these customer-friendly e-shopping portals.

What is amazing is that these products do not show any immediate signs of difference from the original ones - and hence it becomes tough to differentiate between the original and the fake device.

The problems usually begin after a few weeks of using these consignments.

A Mail Today probe discovered that heavy discounts are offered on these products.

These e-shopping websites appear to be selling fake copies of speakers and earphone brands like Bose, Skull Candy, JBL and many more.