Beijing cops were able to shut down a fake iPhone factory that is reportedly worth around $19 million. It was suspected that these phones are sold online and are featured as "on-sale" iPhones.

There were previous reports of iPhone counterfeits in China but this is the biggest bust the authorities had so far. According to police reports, they had confiscated more than 41,000 fake iPhones during the bust.

The factory shop was disguise as a tech shop for maintenance repairs. Amongst the nine people arrested in the bust was a married couple who were believed to be the owners of the factory.

According to Fortune, the couple, believed to be the mastermind behind the operations, bought second-hand equipment and installed them in these fake iPhone devices. The iPhone logos were suspected to be manufactured by a company in Shenzhen.

There are hundreds of laborers allegedly involved in the operations but no reports have been filed on these individuals yet.

Unfortunately, the fake iPhones has already reached the U.S. market and have been tracked by the U.S. authorities. In a report from the Wall Street Journal, this specific crime organization has reached a massive scale that is already affecting the global market as a whole.

China is one of the biggest markets Apple would like to penetrate. However, because of its big competitions in the area, like Xiaomi, it is still developing its own marketing in China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke with the Wall Street Journal and said that they are looking at China as one of their biggest market opportunities. Cook said he is hoping they could expand their reach in the region but also admitted that they are just starting to lay their plans for China.

So far, Apple has not commented on the issue yet.