Chinese authorities arrested five people involved in counterfeiting iPhones, according to Reuters, which cited a local Chinese newspaper. The Five allegedly spent around 2,000 yuan ($313) on parts used to construct almost picture-perfect fake iPhones that they then sold for 4,000 yuan.
“It’s really hard for customers to distinguish the fake ones from the genuine ones,” a police officer told the unspecified Chinese newspaper. The devices apparently functioned as an iPhone, but suffered from shorter battery life.
The police seized some 200 iPhones in the process of arresting the counterfeiting gang.
China, long criticized for allowing widespread piracy and counterfeiting, has seemingly been working at stopping some of the Apple-related counterfeiting occurring in the country.
In July, for instance, the country shut down five retailers that had set up fake Apple Stores. Never mind that some of those stores were allowed to re-open with minor changes, while continuing to look like Apple Stores. In August, authorities announced they had identified 22 more fake Apple Stores or stores that were illegally using Apple branding.
Also in August, police arrested several men who were using a crossbow and a zip line to hoist smuggled Apple goods from Hong Kong into mainland China.
For added, or at least related, dirt, Wikileaks published a U.S. diplomatic cable in August that gave a thorough rundown of Apple’s efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting in China.