Abu Dhabi cracks down on fake mobile phones

More than 20 law enforcers from the Ministry of Interior raided mobile phone shops in Abu Dhabi this week and seized a large quantity of fake products of Sony Ericsson mobile phone maker, dealers said.

The detectives stormed nearly 25 shops in Abu Dhabi’s main mobile phone market on Defence Road and impounded products worth more than Dh50,000 in response to a complaint filed by the Dubai-based Centium Communications, a key distributor of Sony Ericsson accessories in the UAE.

The inspectors also seized the passports of the shops’ owners and told them they have to appear in court on charges of trading in counterfeit products. The traders were also handed a letter asking them to come for investigation at the department of organised crime before standing trial.

It was the first time that the Ministry of Interior was involved in a major raid against fake products as such offences are usually handled by the consumer protection department at the Ministry of Economy.

But dealers said they believe Centium had filed a criminal case against those shops for trading in fake Sony Ericsson batteries, headsets and chargers.

“They came to my shop on Wednesday and confiscated a large quantity of Sony Ericsson products made in China…they said these are fake products which violate the law,” said Gassim Hariri, a mobile phone shop owner.

“They handed me a letter asking me to come to court to face charges of trading in fake products…I don’t know what they are up to but we get these products from legal distributors in the country…we have been trading in them for many years and most customers prefer them for their cheap prices.”

Dealers said about 25 mobile phone shops on Defence Road were raided on Wednesday and hundreds of batteries, chargers and other Sony Ericsson products worth over Dh50,000 were seized.

All shop owners were summoned by police for interrogation on Thursday and to confirm they would stand trial next week.

“Centium has filed a case against us claiming we have hurt its business…but these products are everywhere in the market…..of course we would not have traded in such products if we were told by the authorities,” said Mohammed Fawzi, another mobile phone dealer on Defence Road.

“They came here and had with them a list of around 25 shops although these accessories are sold at all shops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other emirates….I don’t know why they are taking us to court but I believe we have done nothing wrong because all these products enter the country legally.”

More than 150 mobile phone shops are based on Defence Road, the main cellular phone market in the UAE and the largest second hand mobile phone outlet in the Gulf. Most of the traders are Syrian, who get their phones and other products from authorized dealers, mostly in Dubai.

Defence Road has been the scene of repeated raids by the Ministry of Economy over the widespread trading of fake products and Chinese mobile phones, many of which are clones of famous global cellular phone manufacturers.

The Ministry has said its raids are intended to enforce copyrights and intellectual property protection laws and restore discipline to the market.

During their latest surprise raid on those shops two months ago, inspectors impounded more than 500 Chinese handsets worth over Dh75,000.

Like in other countries, China has invaded the UAE’s lucrative mobile phone market, one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, as it had done with its cheap watches, radio and TV sets, and other electronics.

In the past, authorities had made no move against the dumping of massive, cheaper quantities of Chinese mobile phones and accessories on the grounds the UAE is an open economy. But they decided to act after receiving complaints from authorized dealers that clone Chinese products are now flooding the market in violation of the existing intellectual property laws.

The UAE has one of the world’s highest mobile phone penetration ratios, exceeding 200 per cent at the end of 2009. This is because of the country’s high per capita income, which surpassed Dh150,000 last year, as well as advanced mobile services and strong domestic appetites for cellular technology.

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