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Customs officials seize hundreds of iPhone 6 at Shanghai airport
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CUSTOMS officials at the Pudong International Airport have seized 238 iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus which they believe were being smuggled into China’s mainland.
Investigations have opened into five cases of suspected smuggling, customs officers said yesterday.
These include a case involving a passenger who tried to bring into Shanghai 80 of these latest Apple smartphones, which were launched in some countries and regions last Friday.
Officers also found a further 102 of the iPhones that were not declared by travelers.
They were returned to their owners once duty of 10 percent was paid.
The seized phones were in the luggage of passengers, most of whom were Chinese on flights from Hong Kong, Canada, Russia and elsewhere.
Under China’s customs regulations, Chinese residents must declare to customs personal items brought back from overseas valued at 5,000 yuan (US$814) or more.
Non-Chinese residents must declare items worth 2,000 yuan or more that they intend to leave in China.
Items deemed for personal use are returned once duty is paid, while large quantities can be confiscated on suspicion of smuggling.
As the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are not yet available on China’s mainland, some Apple fans are willing to pay high prices to get their hands on one.
Addressing this demand, some stores have been offering unauthorized imports for well above official prices.
Shanghai Daily found a store named “Digital Communications 2008” at online shopping site taobao.com, selling both models which they say are bought in Hong Kong.
Other stores also offer iPhones sold in America, Japan, Canada and other countries.
Teams in place
One Taobao shop boasts that it has teams in place to buy iPhones around the world and bring them back to China’s mainland.
It can be a lucrative trade.
In Hong Kong, the price for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus starts at HK$6,388 (US$824) — around 5,060 yuan.
However, a customer of “Digital Communications 2008” would pay 9,888 yuan.
But the bonanza for unauthorized iPhone 6 imports may be short-lived.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said Apple’s application to sell the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on China’s mainland has entered its final phase.
While no launch date has been announced, some Apple fans are happy to bide their time.
“I don’t think Apple will ignore the large market in China. I believe the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will come soon and I’d rather wait instead of emptying my pockets,” said Daniel Zhang, an Apple fan from Shanghai.
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