Hyderabad: City police bust fake Apple products racket; goods worth Rs 3 crore seized

Hyderabad: Detectives from the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, Central Zone Team, working in coordination with authorised copyright representatives of Apple Inc, have conducted a raid near Hari Masjid, Miralam Mandi, apprehending three individuals for illegally procuring, stocking, and selling counterfeit Apple-branded mobile accessories. Police seized counterfeit Apple products with a total estimated value of Rs 3 crore.

The arrested persons have been identified as Mohd Shahid Ali, 48, a resident of Miralam Mandi, who allegedly procured the fake Apple accessories from agents and stored them at his residence; Irfan Ali, 49, of L.B Nagar, who purchased the counterfeit accessories from Shahid Ali and distributed them further; and Santosh Rajpurohit, 39, Proprietor of PM Mobiles, Gujrathi Galli, Koti, who sold the fake items at his retail store. Both Mohd Shahid Ali and Irfan Ali are natives of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, the accused were found to be selling fake accessories packaged with replicated Apple logos, MRP stickers, security seals, and outer covers, meticulously imitating original Apple packaging. These items were then misrepresented as genuine products and sold to unsuspecting customers, resulting in financial loss for buyers and brand damage to Apple Inc.

Police seized a total of 2,761 products, including 28 watches, 1,145 AirPods, 52 cables, 14 adapters, 4 MagSafe power banks, 260 watch box covers, 480 watch SKU stickers, 428 MRP stickers, and 350 accessories security seals.

YVS Sudheendra, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Task Force, stated that the accused, who are involved in the sale of mobile phones and cell phone accessories in Hyderabad, were found to be purchasing counterfeit Apple-branded products from marketing agents based in Mumbai. “These items bore duplicate logos and labels resembling original Apple Inc. The accused repackaged these products with fake Apple-branded packaging and sold them to customers as original Apple accessories, thereby cheating the public and gaining illegal profits,” the DCP added.The raid, conducted on July 25, saw police, alongside Apple’s authorised copyright representatives, apprehend the individuals and seize the fake and duplicate Apple products. The arrested individuals, along with the seized material, have been handed over to Mirchowk police for further action.