Foxconn manager admits to stealing thousands of smartphones in racket that earned over $700,000

A senior manager at Taiwan's technology giant Foxconn has admitted stealing thousands of smartphones, prosecutors said Friday, in a racket that reportedly made over $700,000. 

Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics maker and assembles products for international brands such as Apple, Sony and Nokia. It employs about one million workers at its factories across China.

The Taiwanese deputy sales manager worked at the company's factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, which assembles products such as Apple's iPhone 6.

Prosecutors said "thousands" of phones were stolen in the scam, which they believe involved a network of accomplices.

Local media reported that 4,000 smartphones including the iPhone 6 had gone missing and were sold on in China for around Tw $24 million ($760,000).

"He admitted to stealing smartphones from a Foxconn factory in China last year during questioning yesterday," prosecutors told AFP.

Foxconn reported the case to the authorities following an internal audit, she added.

Last year, five former Foxconn employees were charged with breach of trust in Taiwan for allegedly soliciting Tw$160 million in kickbacks from suppliers in exchange for clearing quality checks and buying their equipment.

Foxconn said at the time that it planned to seek compensation from the suppliers involved in the case and called for the accused to be "severely punished according to the law".

The company has also come under the spotlight over labour unrest, a spate of employee suicides and the use of underage interns at its Chinese plants in recent years.

Champions League: all kneeling before Lionel Messi

Small bridges which Fernandinho and Milner will remember, a bright opening to provide a profit Rakitic, aggressiveness flawless on the ball carrier, a vision of outstanding play, Lionel Messi has offered a true recital Wednesday night against Manchester, the Argentine has honored its four Ballons d'Or delivering an unforgettable performance.

Author of a decisive pass, it would also have been able to afford one or even two goals if Joe Hart had not interposed brilliantly before him in the second half. After the game, many players of the game that greeted her titanic match, like Ivan Rakitic: "Perhaps you will think me a little heavy but it is impressive. What he does is incredible. Even Manchester City players have enjoyed watching him play. It was not good as the first time he has been impressive during the 90 minutes. We want to continue with it, especially since it does not stop, and still enjoy, "said he let go at the end of the match.

The Catalan coach Luis Enrique did not hide his pleasure either in a press conference: "This is the best player in the world, no doubt, of the present time and even the history of football. Its presence is a plus, it is obvious and we are delighted to have him with us. I am delighted. "Significantly less delighted, but also admiration, Manuel Pellegrini has recognized the genius talent Barcelona:" In the first half when Messi grabbed the ball, he has created a great imbalance. Not just to clear his opponents but also to bring danger in front of goal, creating spaces and give good balls. We had to control the better. In all cases, it is very fast and agile, always one step ahead and it unbalanced us. "That the Chilean technician and console, many more will pass over his blade by the end of the season.

Traffickers work with tobacco shops, servers and retail resellers

This practice is known to be more dangerous than simply trade in cigarettes illegally imported. And for good reason, customers who choose to buy contraband cigarettes do knowingly and accept the associated risks. However, in the case of transfer, the consumer is simply misleading. To do this, traffickers have developed a practice of emptying the smuggled cigarettes package while maintaining their internal sealed packaging. The next step is to retrieve packages from legal cigarettes in good condition, the stamp is not damaged and filling. The outer plastic wrapping himself is again simply by using a glue at the bottom of the package. Trafficking networks is assumed that working with tobacco shops, servers cafes and pubs and even street dealers, as well as specialized scavengers. These ensure the supply of empty packages and fiscal marking stamps. "The price of empty packets varies with reusability," said an operator. He added: "If the tone of the vacuum package is damaged, the price ranges from 0.50 to DH 1DH, depending on season and demand. However, the price of an empty packet whose stamp is intact up to 4 DH ". The second technique (most common) is to cut the legal package and stick it back on the package of smuggling to conceal information about the location of production and others. 

So, just to recover empty packages of other brands, for which opening the package does not necessarily engenders the destruction of the tax stamp. This stamp is recovered to be glued on smuggling packets. In short, "these products are repackaged so as to make them difficult to detect. They are sold at the same price as the original, "says an operator. This lucrative business allows traffickers and their distributors to achieve a total net margin of 12 DH per pack.

If in the tobacco sector traffic marking tax stamps request a logistics and strategy, this problem does not arise in the alcoholic beverage industry. The reason, the stamps can not be reused once opened bottles sold legally. So, traffickers use only fake stamps.

"This stamp forgery phenomenon started in small local printing. Today, there are even specialists who make them in China before sending in Mauritania from which they introduce them to Morocco, "said an expert in the field.

How smugglers sell their goods through legal channels

For tobacco, traffickers use stick packs sold legally or false information on smuggling packets. 

Alcoholic beverages, fiscal marking stamps are printed and pasted falsified on the bottles.

The phenomenon of smuggling is assuming alarming proportions in Morocco. With the aim to increase their margin and expand their targets now, traffickers do not hesitate to opt for new ingenious techniques to introduce illegal products into the legal distribution chain. Therefore, we can not be surprised if you find a pack of cigarettes manufactured in Algeria exhibited in a monogram of Casablanca tobacconist, or a bottle of alcohol from Spain or counterfeit sold in a sweatshop in a prestigious pub Marrakech legally.

In fact, this phenomenon affects these two main products. For cigarettes, it is important to note that in Morocco this market is estimated at over 18 billion units in 2014, nearly 4 billion units of counterfeit or contraband, or nearly 200 million packages. Over a third of these packages is marketed in the legal system. Flow to fill these very large quantities that come from Algeria and Mauritania mainly "smugglers now opt for the technique of reusing fiscal marking stamps," says an industry operator. Only three brands are very affected by the traffic, the Marlboro occurrence (PMI), Winston and Camel (JTI). These products whose retail price is 33 DH 32 and DH, respectively, are proposed in Algeria to 15 DH. Once introduced in Morocco, the goods are delivered directly to wholesalers whose near majority has large storage space. "It is within these deposits cigarette packages are the subject of a transfer operation," said the operator. The principle is simple: the seller sells its contraband cigarettes on the market as of Moroccan products.