Many Delhiites, it appears, are willing to pay a huge premium just to flaunt the latest iPhone 6S and 6S Plus that are yet to launch in India. And this eagerness to flaunt is now tempting some to smuggle in the phones illegally.
Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport recently caught a group of youngsters trying to sneak in iPhones in their baggage. “We caught them on suspicion while they were trying to pass through the Green Channel. We found total 182 iPhones in their baggage and the items were immediately seized,” said Vinayak Azaad, Additional Commissioner, Customs.
Mr. Azaad said that since individually these men were not carrying goods beyond the value of Rs. 20 lakh, they were not arrested, even though the phones were seized. “These phones are yet to be launched in India and there is a segment of people who want to flaunt these before the phones are officially launched. There was no specific input that we had but we keep a watch on flights coming from Hong Kong and Singapore because bringing such gadgets from these places is much cheaper than bringing these from say Canada or the US,” he said.
“We just focus upon movements on these routes and when we found these men passing through the Green Channel, we got their baggage screened on suspicion,” he said.
For those eager to get their hands on the phone before it is launched in the country and are not travelling abroad this month, on eBay India's website, the 128 GB Iphone 6s Plus in all colours is being sold for Rs. 1,09,999 while the Iphone 6s 16 GB variant in rose gold is available for Rs. 72,500 in mint condition with free shipping across India.
On the global Apple website the retail price of the Iphone 6s starts at $649 and the Iphone 6s Plus starts at $749. According to some retailers, Apple has given a go-ahead to start advance bookings for the phone ahead of its India launch. The date for the launch and price however, is still speculative. The phone is likely to be made available in India on October 15. This comes a year after the Iphone 6 was launched in the country in October 2014.
