Counterfeit Mi India products worth INR 33.3 lakh seized

Counterfeited products have been a problem that the Indian market has been facing for a while. It is easy to find cheap look likes of popular brands in the local shops and in the past few years, there are a lot of counterfeit available in the accessory category as well. 

Mi India, today on November 23 announced that counterfeit products of an estimated worth of INR 33.3 lakhs were seized from seven suppliers in India. This was done as a part of the brand's comprehensive proactive anti-counterfeit program, and a complaint was filed with the local police station, and raids were conducted in the market in the months of October and November.

Out of these seven suppliers, four were in Chennai while three are based in Bangalore. 

 Following the registered complaint, police officers along with the company’s representatives seized counterfeit devices from three prominent shops in the area. Over 3,000 products consisting of mobile back cases, headphones, power banks, chargers, and earphones, were found. The shop owners from both the cities were arrested for allegedly selling fake Mi India products worth INR 24.9 lakhs and 8.4 lakhs respectively. Upon interrogation, it was found that these suppliers have been managing this business for a long time and have sold multiple unauthorized products in the market.

Following this raid, the company through its press release has also issued guidelines on how to identify counterfeit products of Xiaomi:

• Some products have security codes that can be checked on mi.com to identify the authenticity of the product- eg. Mi Powerbanks, all audio products 
• Packaging and quality of retail boxes are very different. You can visit any Mi Home/ Mi Store to validate the original packaging
• Check for the original Mi India Logo on the product and you will know if that is authorized. The original logo of packaging can be seen on mi.com
• All authorized fitness products such as Mi Band(s) will have Mi Fit app compatibility.
• Unauthorized cables are often flimsy and break easily

 Apart from this, the company has also advised customers to buy their products only Authorised Service centres.

Furthermore, Mi India has created a special task force that is responsible for constantly monitoring the market and acting against such unauthorised entities and counterfeiters.