Chinese police raids factory which produced 41,000 fake iPhones

The Chinese authorities has raided a factory in China which was making fake Apple iPhones and arrested nine people.

According to the BBC, 41,000 fake Apple iPhones were allegedly manufactured in the factory and the operation reportedly involved hundreds of workers repackaging second hand smartphone parts as new iPhones for export, with counterfeit phones produced worth 120m yuan or USD 19 million.

The factory was first discovered on 14 May but the details were revealed in a social media posting by the public security bureau in Beijing, according to reports.

The fake factory was set up in January.

The operation of factory was led by a married couple on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital.

Beijing authorities said they had been alerted to the factory by US authorities which had seized some of the fake phones.

The incident comes amid as officials have pushed firms to apply for trademarks and patents and cracked down on fakes.

China has also agreed to work with the US authorities to try to stem the large quantities of counterfeit goods flowing between the two countries.

The fakes discovered by blogger BirdAbroad were so convincing she said many of the staff themselves was convinced that they were employed by the US electronics firm.