Mumbai: Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has busted a major racket selling counterfeit luxury watches, exposing a scam that deceived both unsuspecting customers and renowned international brands. The EOW has arrested five traders involved in selling these fake watches.
The arrested accused have been identified as Munaf Abdul Qadir Ghoghari, Jagdish Tagaram Purohit, Mangalram Saremallji Purohit, Ahmed Umar Halai, and Hitesh Pukhrajbhai Purohit. The police seized 1,482 counterfeit watches from their possession, with an estimated market value of around ₹3.5 crore. All five were produced before the court, which remanded them to police custody.
The operation stemmed from a complaint lodged by Mahesh Vishnu Kamble, an employee of a reputed private company that deals in imported luxury watches, and a resident of Shivajinagar, Pune. He reported that counterfeit versions of his company’s products were being sold in Mumbai’s Al-Sabah Market.
Acting swiftly, the EOW raided shop numbers 123, 124, 125, 131, and 135 in Al-Sabah Market. During the raid, a large stock of counterfeit watches branded as Longines, Rado, Audemars Piguet, and Casio was recovered. These watches were found to be in clear violation of copyright and trademark laws.
Investigations revealed that the arrested traders were fully aware that the watches were fake but still sold them as genuine imported products at discounted prices, thereby defrauding customers and causing financial loss to authentic brands. An FIR in this case has been registered at LT Marg Police Station, and the EOW is continuing with the probe to uncover the full extent of the racket.
