Man tries to smuggle 94 iPhones into China by strapping them to his body

By Trevor Mogg January 13, 2015

man tries smuggle 94 iphones china strapping body gets caught hong kong — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A Hong Kong man has been caught trying to smuggle nearly 100 iPhones into China by strapping them to his body.

According to local media reports, it was the man’s stiff and awkward walking style that caught the attention of border officials. It must, after all, be rather difficult to walk naturally with 94 smartphones taped to your chest, back, legs, and crotch.

After noticing his unusual walking posture, which presumably looked more C-3PO than man-from-Hong-Kong, border guards asked him to walk through a metal detector. Sure enough, the detector’s alarm went into meltdown, confirming the guards’ suspicions that something wasn’t quite right with this particular traveler.

In the days before the iPhone was officially available in mainland China, or when new versions of the device launched in the country later than in other locations, there was real money to be made in smuggling the handset across the border from Hong Kong, which is usually one of the first markets to receive Apple’s handset after release.

However, it’s not sure how much money this particular smuggler might’ve made with his concealed consignment of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones as the handsets have been available in China for some time.

While it’s not uncommon for smugglers to attach handsets to their body in an attempt to get them across the border unnoticed, it’s certainly unusual for someone to try taking across so many devices in a single attempt. And now we know why.

[Via Sina News]

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