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Li Jing

Shenzhen customs officers confiscated more than 400 smuggled iPhone 7s in a joint operation with Hong Kong authorities on Friday, the first day the products went on sale, mainland media reported on Sunday.
Chinese customs authorities said they handled more than 60 attempts to smuggle in iPhone 7s on Friday, with most offenders concealing the handsets on their bodies, Xinhua reported.
The first smuggler was caught at 1pm on Friday and had five of the devices on him, Legal Daily ­reported.
Each person can take one new phone for personal use across the border. A 15 per cent tax applies to extra handsets. People taking in many iPhones are treated as smugglers.
The rush is on! Hongkongers queue up for new iPhone 7 line but traders show less enthusiasm
Hong Kong customs tipped off its Shenzhen counterpart about 10 suspected smugglers at 4pm on Friday. Those travellers were found bringing in 44 iPhone 7s strapped to their waist and ­ankles.
Between 6.30pm and 7pm, Shenzhen officers also picked up seven people with 190 iPhone 7s.
The seized phones were ­valued at 3 million yuan (HK$3.5 million), Shenzhen customs said.
Officers said most of the smugglers were paid up to 300 yuan for each trip. Offenders would either have to pay the 15 per cent tax or face smuggling charges, reports said.
Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan are among the first places to sell the new iPhone models, but sales are limited to pre-orders for now.
iPhone 7 a ‘pleasant surprise’ that will drive Apple higher, strategist says
Chinese demand for the ­devices continues to be strong, with the first batch of stock booked out soon after Apple ­started taking online orders on September 9.
Some scalpers are selling ­iPhone 7s outside Apple stores in Beijing, demanding hundreds or even several thousand yuan above the sticker price.
Buyers reserving a phone now would have to wait another two or three weeks to receive their purchase, the Beijing News reported.
Hundreds queue outside Apple stores in China as iPhone 7 goes on sale
The jet black model with 256 gigabytes of storage, the most popular version, is priced at over 10,000 yuan on Taobao, Alibaba’s e-commerce platform.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.


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Apple

Hundreds of smuggled iPhone 7s netted in Chinese border crackdown

Smugglers were paid up to 300 yuan to take the latest model iPhone across the border. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Apple turns away shoppers for iPhone 7 who did not order ahead

Customers look at the new iPhone 7 smartphone inside an Apple Inc. store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Customers go inside of an Apple Inc. store to buy the new iPhone 7 smartphone inside in New York, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The new iPhone 7 smartphone is displayed inside an Apple Inc. store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Customers line up outside for the release of the Apple iPhone 7 and the latest Apple Watches at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A customer inspects two Apple Inc. iPhone 7 smartphones at the Apple Store inside the IAPM shopping mall in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. Apple hopes its new iPhone 7 will help to stem a two-quarter decline in iPhone sales by enticing users to upgrade to the 7's faster processor and expanded memory options. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Customers wait in line to buy the new iPhone 7 smartphone outside an Apple store in New York. Photo: Reuters

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