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Seized! Ten Million Dollars Of Counterfeit iPods, iPhones
Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Port Police Authority
Upwards of $10 million in counterfeit iPods, iPhones and other items shipped from Asia have been seized from a "sophisticated downtown warehouse operation" in a theft-case that was started by the Los Angeles Port Police stemming from a stolen-cargo investigation, reports the LA Times.
Ron Boyd, chief of the L.A. Port Police, called the operation "well-funded" and asserted that the counterfeits looked very authentic, so much so that an unknowing buyer may not notice a problem until they attempted to activate the product with iTunes. Some of the products arrived as parts meant to be reassembled and labeled and designed to look like older Apple products without touch screens.
Two Los Angeles residents have been arrested, reports the LA Times, Edward Zahab, 40, has been charged with three felony counts of the sale of counterfeit goods, and Bahram Zahab, 45, has been charged with one felony count of the sale of counterfeit goods. Boyd said the ongoing investigation included the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Enforcement Security Task Force, California Highway Patrol's Cargo Theft Interdiction Program and the Vernon Police Department.
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