Fake iPhone factory busted

The phones which are believed to be worth as much as $19 million, include some that reached the United States.

Nine suspects have been arrested in the counterfeiting operation so far.

The persons arrested include a married couple who led the operation, after a raid in May on the factory, run under the guise of a gadget maintenance shop on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital.

It is believed that the group, headed by a 43-year-old man, surnamed Yu, and his 40-year old wife, surnamed Xie – both from the southern hardware manufacturing city of Shenzhen, allegedly set up the Beijing factory with six assembly lines in January.

They hired “hundreds” of workers to repackage second-hand smartphone components as iPhones for export, it added.

Police seized 1,400 handsets and large quantities of accessories during the May 14 raid.

Details were only revealed in a social media posting on Sunday by the public security bureau in Beijing.

In the United States, the newest Apple Inc handsets can fetch $649, or more, depending on the model.

Beijing police said their investigation followed a tip-off from U.S. authorities who seized some of the fake devices.

The destination of the counterfeit phones, and how many made it there, remains unknown.