Detectives from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have arrested three Chinese nationals accused of running a clandestine iPhone assembly factory in the capital. The operation, which evaded import taxes by assembling iPhones using imported components, had been active for approximately one and a half years.
The arrested individuals were identified as Tan Jian, Wu Jun, and Dong Hongwei. Police raids conducted on January 7 targeted residences in Uttara and Nikunja areas, uncovering a “secret lab” used for assembling the counterfeit phones.
Acting on a tip-off, a DMP detective team first raided a house in Sector 13 of Uttara West around 3:30 pm, where they apprehended Tan Jian and seized 58 iPhones. Based on information extracted from him, authorities then raided a residence in Nikunja-1 under Khilkhet Police Station at approximately 5:30 pm. There, Wu Jun and Dong Hongwei were arrested, and investigators recovered 305 additional iPhones, a large quantity of spare parts, assembly machinery, eight bottles of foreign liquor, and Tk 26,000 in cash.
In total, 363 iPhone sets of various models, along with manufacturing equipment, were confiscated during the operations.
Deputy Commissioner Mahiuddin Mahmud Sohel of the DMP’s Detective Branch (Mirpur Division) briefed the media on the case, stating that the syndicate illegally imported iPhone components from abroad in separate shipments to avoid customs duties. These parts were then assembled in the hidden facility to produce counterfeit devices that closely resembled original iPhones, which were subsequently sold on the local market.
“They have been running this fraud for about a year and a half. It is suspected that they have already supplied a large number of fake phones to the market during this period,” Sohel said.
When questioned about possible local involvement, the DC noted that preliminary investigations had uncovered names of some Bangladeshi individuals, but details were withheld to protect the ongoing probe.
