Chinese police pull the plug on Dyson hairdryer pirates
- Two manufacturing bases raided and 36 people arrested in joint action across southern and eastern China
- Company made US$1.5 million in sophisticated operation
A Chinese company that made and sold fakes of a popular British brand of hairdryers has been shut down by police and 36 people have been placed in criminal detention.
About 400 counterfeit Dyson hairdryers, 1,500 half-finished products and 200,000 components were seized in a joint action carried out by officers from Shanghai, Guangdong and Fujian in the middle of December.
The fakes were selling for as low as half the price of the genuine hairdryers, according to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, which said two manufacturing bases were raided in the operation.
The investigation began in August after police received tip-offs from consumers who complained after buying the fake hairdryers from major shopping websites.
Police said the ringleaders were a man, surnamed Yang, and his wife who had set up a company in the southern province of Guangdong a year ago and bought some Dyson products under the guise of a legitimate trading business.