In a big crackdown on counterfeit goods, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru busted a fake branded watch racket and arrested five accused of selling duplicate watches under the name of Titan.
The five accused are Abdul Rehman, Syed Jaisad Iqbal, Mohammed Habeeb Hussain, Khaleem Ullah, and Harish Kumar. The people behind this scam are selling counterfeit watches in city centers with high-class venues like RT Nagar and Chickpet, officials said.
The Central Crime Branch investigated based on a complaint submitted by Titan Company and conducted raids in several locations. During the operation, officials seized around 670 fake watches worth ₹25 lakh.
Investigators found that the accused lured customers with so-called “off-rate” or “cheap-rate” deals, selling watches at nearly half the price of original branded products.
Police said the counterfeit watches looked like the original Titan products, which makes it difficult for customers to differentiate between their real and fake ones. As a result, it has not only cheated consumers but has resulted in extensive losses for the brand.
The CCB’s Economic Offences Wing is now examining the racket in search of manufacturing and supply sources. Police now believe a bigger network is behind producing and selling fake branded goods outside the city and possibly in some parts of Europe.
Advisory officials for businesses have advised citizens to avoid the purchase of branded products when they are offered at unusually low prices. To avoid fraud, they advised on authenticity tests and the purchase of branded products only from authorized dealers.
The arrested individuals are now detained, and inquiries from the authorities are still ongoing regarding the counterfeit operations.
