[b]A Chinese man has been caught attempting to smuggle Apple iPhones into the country from Hong Kong -- with 66 handsets strapped to his body.

Caught by customs officials at the Luohu border crossing between Hong Kong and the mainland he was stopped after being noticed walking with an unusual stiffness and carrying bags.

Although the bags contained nothing of note, the customs officials were curious about his stiff gait, and strip searched him - revealing the movement restricting corset made from Apple iPhones.

There is a lucrative market in smuggling mobile phones between the two jurisdictions as tax rates on phones sold in Hong Kong are lower than on the mainland, leading to a profit opportunity.

Also, the country's largest mobile network, China Mobile may not officially support the handset, but it is known that well over 10 million of them are being used on its network.

Apple officially has a fairly small market share in China, but the smuggling is so high that it distorts the figures. In the recent financial results though, Apple noted a sharp fall in sales of its iPhones in China, which they admitted had them puzzled.

It seems that the Chinese customs officials may be having a much bigger effect than originally expected.[/b]

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