Around one third of the imported mobile phones are fake as importers bringing in cheaper and low quality handsets from China with L/Cs (Letters of Credit) they open to import cell phones of renowned companies.
The logos or stickers are of branded phone sets but the inside, in fact, is of lower quality, traders and regulatory officials say.
A syndicate of traders is collecting billions of taka from the customers every year through cheating, Mobile Phone Businessmen Association president Nizamuddin Jitu has told bdnews24.com.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Corporation (BTRC) chairman Zia Ahmed has admitted that imports of fake mobile phone sets are happening.
The fake handsets have fake IMIE (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers.
The import cost of a fake handset is Tk 1,000-2,500 but they are sold at Tk 5,000-25,000, according to the report of bdnews24.com.