May 01, 2015 01:32 PM EDT
Uber Offices Raided by Chinese Police Under Suspicion of Unlicensed Operations

Police in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou raided the offices of Uber on Thursday, seizing equipment from employees as part of an investigation into illegal taxi services being offered in the city.

The Guangzhou Municipal Transport Commission said that local authorities believe Uber was still providing its services to users despite being banned by the Chinese government back in January, according to the Associated Press.

"The company is suspected of unlicensed operation and conducting illegal business by allowing private car owners to offer taxi services," an official with the city's traffic authority told said to local paper Xinhua.

Thousands of iPhones and other devices were seized on Thursday night by authorities during the raid, but we have not been able to confirm if they belonged to Uber employees or Uber drivers yet.

Pictures of the raid were obtained by People's Daily, China and posted on Twitter last night.

The transport commission recently announced that anyone found providing illegal taxi services would be fined 30,000 yuan ($4,860 USD).

A Uber spokesperson confirmed to AP that while they are cooperating with Guangzhou authorities its services will still be provided to local residents.

As of Friday morning, Uber's services were still available in Guangzhou. The company has a history of just doing what it wants and paying the price later so we would be shocked if Uber stops linking users with drivers in Guangzhou despite the raid.

Police also raided a Uber driver training session in Chongqing back in December, according to The Huffington Post.

Uber, which is currently valued at about $40 billion, operates in 53 countries and 200 cities around the globe, including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.

See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?

 PREVIOUS POST
NEXT POST 

EDITOR'S PICK    

Hyundai to Invest $16.1 Billion for EV Business; Sets Annual Sales Goal of 1.87M Electric Cars by 2030

World's Most Expensive and Most Heavily-optioned Porsche 928 GTS is Coming Home to the U.S.

Major Boost as Tesla Giga Berlin Facility in Final Phase of Approval Process; Delivery Event Set This Month

Audi Looking for e-tron Electric Vehicles to Spur Car Brand's Growth in India in 2022

Toyota Offers Free EV Charging to Owners of 2023 bZ4X After Partnership Agreement with EVgo

2022 Suzuki Baleno Finally Unveiled in India: What are the Specs and Features of this City Car?