Shanghai cops bust fake iPhone gang

Police in China finally appear to be getting tough on counterfeit Apple goods, after news emerged that Shanghai officers busted an organised gang responsible for building and distributing hundreds of fake iPhones.

Shanghai Daily reported that five suspects have been arrested so far following the discovery of the gang's workshop in Zhabei, a part of Shanghai close to the city's largest mobile phone market.

The report said that around 200 fake iPhones were seized, along with over 5,000 components, worth an estimated ¥5m (£500,000).

These were pretty good forgeries, though, with some genuine components. They shared the same functionality as the real iPhone, but battery life was far inferior, the report claimed.

The news will be welcomed at Cupertino, which has been frustrated by a string of fake Apple stores springing up around Chinese cities, a staggering 22 in Kunming alone.

Apple has even sought to register a number of patents in China in an attempt to protect its intellectual property in the world's second largest economy.