The Chinese authorities seized hundreds of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones smuggled into the country ahead of their official release.
Apple surpassed all records of opening sales with the latest iPhone 6 smartphones. The tech giant set different release dates for various markets around the world but China seems to have been left out in the list .
The demand for big-screen smartphones is extremely high in China. And till date, Apple is yet to receive a final license from the government for launching the latest iteration from its line of smartphones in the world's most populous country.
The delay has upset many Chinese consumers and has created a heightened demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Consumers are ready to pay more than double the smartphone's value in the black market. People are buying the latest iPhones from other countries where the smartphones are already launched and bringing them back to China.
According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, officials seized 453 units of the unreleased smartphones in Shanghai, Sunday. In three separate raids in Hong Kong, Thursday through Saturday, the officials confiscated hundreds of smartphones that were being shipped into the mainland on speedboats, ABC News reports.
Officials also found iPhone smartphones from the luggage of two passengers at Shanghai airport on their arrival from Tokyo. The customs agency said 831 undeclared iPhones were confiscated individually from passengers, out of which 691 were suspected of being smuggled, Xinhua News Agency reports.
The Cupertino tech giant has been struggling to get the necessary regulatory approvals for releasing the two new phones in China. As of last week, a report by Xinhua News Agency said the company won two of three major licenses needed for the iPhone 6 launch in China. However, the official date of release of the smartphones is still to be set.
Apple started selling its two new iPhones in 22 new markets last Friday, after its successful release in 10 countries Sept. 19.
