Fake mobile phone vendors arrested

26 Dec 2011

Police conducted a raid at a shopping centre in Pattaya on Wednesday and arrested vendors alleged to have been selling counterfeit mobile telephones. In the raid at Tukcom Pattaya, police officers seized 610 knock-off phones and accessories said to have a black-market value of 1.6 million Baht.

The police team was led by Pattaya superintendent Nantavuth Suwanlaorng and Theeraphol Jindaluang of the Chonburi provincial force, who were accompanied by Intellectual Property Department commissioner Thara Poonnasri. The team examined the wares of 100 stalls located in the IT section on Tukcom’s upper floor.

Officers said afterwards that the seized phones were copies of popular brands including Blackberries, Apple iPhone 4s and the latest Nokias. They said the phones looked authentic, yet were being sold at prices of between 1,000 and 3,000 Baht, a considerable saving on the genuine articles.

Police also confiscated phone and computer accessories in the raid. The Intellectual Property Department alleges the bogus products were made in China and smuggled into Thailand.

After the raid had taken place, the shop owners and sales assistants implicated in the bogus phone sales were taken to the local police station where they and the seized articles were displayed at a media briefing.

Police officers say the vendors have admitted to buying the phones and accessories from a Bangkok agent. The sales assistants also say most of the articles sold over the counter are bought by foreign holidaymakers and ex-pats. The suspects have all since been charged with trade mark violations.

Tags: Fake phone vendors