The iPhones were seized from courier stores and Apple authorized resellers (Photo: Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Brazil’s consumer protection agency has confiscated iPhones from stores because there was no charger in the box.

Hundreds of iPhones from various stores have been seized in the capital Brasília as part of Operation Discharge, Tecnoblog reports.

According to the report, the iPhones have been seized from carrier stores and Apple authorized resellers.

The move by Brazilian regulators appears to be an attempt to force Apple to comply with a local law that requires smartphones to be sold with their chargers.

Following the incident, Apple Brazil has reportedly asked the government to allow sales of the smartphone in the country until the issue is legally resolved.

In September, Brazil fined Apple and banned the sale of iPhones until the company puts the chargers back in the box (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Meanwhile, the company continues to sell iPhones in Brazil despite the operation.

Local reports say the judge, which allowed Apple to continue selling iPhones pending a final decision, believes the company is not in violation of consumer rights.

Apple is confident it can win the lawsuit and that customers are “aware of the different ways to charge and connect their devices.”

In September, Brazil fined Apple and banned the sale of iPhones until the company puts the chargers back in the box.

Brazil’s justice ministry has fined the company 12.275 million reais (£2 million) for selling an incomplete product, Reuters reported.

The ministry said the iPhone was sold without a necessary part in a “deliberately discriminatory practice by consumers”.

Apple stopped adding chargers to its phones in 2020, upsetting consumers but reportedly saving the company billions of dollars.