You bought a smartphone along the street recently?
Beware! Coz fake phones are on the loose.
Authorities have impounded counterfeit mobile phones worth Ksh3 million on Tuesday along Tom Mboya street in Nairobi.
The phones were confiscated following a sting operation organized by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), anti-counterfeit agency and anti-illicit trade agency.
The operation done in a few shops revealed the unscrupulous methods mobile phone dealers use to sell their products.
The dealers import mobile phones of unknown makes, which are then plastered with labels of known brands during retail.
For example, a mobile phone worth Ksh100,000 is imitated and sold for Ksh30,000 or even less.
In doing this, consumers get low quality and the Government loses revenue, therefore, dragging the economy behind.
According to a report by NTV, some of the shops selling the counterfeit mobile phones were shut down, possibly having gotten hints of the planned crackdown.
Traders caught selling the fake products were arrested and will answer to the charges.
Research conducted between May 2017 and May 2018 revealed a proliferation of substandard phones in the country.