Smuggling thrives in face of sanctions on Iran
The economic sanctions slapped by the United States and European Union on Iran over its alleged nuclear programme are leading to an increase in the flow of smuggled goods, especially petroleum products, to Pakistan and a drop in legal bilateral trade.
Not only this, other bottlenecks, which are the result of some steps taken by the Iranian government, are discouraging trade between the two neighbours.
In an effort to rein in smugglers, Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have sealed a 500km belt along the border with Iran by digging trenches and placing barbed wires to curb illegal supply of goods to Balochistan. However despite that, the smugglers still find a way to clear the border and dodge security checks.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/792096/smuggling-thrives-in-face-of-sanctions-on-iran/
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BAT fined for oversupplying tobacco in low-tax European jurisdictions
£650,000 penalty from HMRC reflects growing concern that surplus is finding its way back to the UK illicitly. Big tobacco, long accused of complicity in smuggling, is under close scrutiny as it emerges that one of the world’s largest cigarette firms has been fined for oversupplying foreign markets.
The practice of flooding low-tax foreign markets with more tobacco than they are capable of consuming has sparked concerns that much of the product is able to find its way back into the highly taxed UK without HM Revenue and Customs receiving its due share. Anti-tobacco campaigners claim such abuse of the UK tax system is rife and believe that a fine imposed on British American Tobacco (BAT) is merely the tip of the iceberg.
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Combating Counterfeit and Substandard ICT Devices
Counterfeiting is a negative activity that is affecting almost all areas of economies, incidentally it has become a menace in the Internet world. Apart from selling of fake products online, the production and sale of imitated or counterfeit products create huge market for products that hurt the producers of the genuine goods and also create a menancing health risk to the users.
Most ICT devices that have hit the market include mobile phones and smart devices, Cameras, Printer consumables such as toners and cartridges, memory sticks, drives, monitors, networking equipment such as Cat-5/Cat-6 structure cabling, switches and routers.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20141114_combating_counterfeit_and_substandard_ict_devices/
Lear MoreBrand protection with anti-counterfeting resins, percept technologies with TPEs
Proliferation of counterfeit goods spreads mayhem in businesses globally. Counterfeit and pirated goods are estimated to drain US$1 trillion from the global economy and rob more than 2.5 million people of legitimate jobs worldwide, as per Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. New developments meets the needs of the packaging industry for brand protection with anti-counterfeiting resins, percept technologies, taggants, etc. A taggant can mean a radio frequency microchip used in automated identification and data capture. In such cases, electronic devices use radio waves to track and identify items, such as pharmaceutical products, by assigning individual serial numbers to the containers holding each product. This technology may prevent the diversion or counterfeiting of drugs by allowing wholesalers and pharmacists to determine the identity and dosage of individual products. A taggant is also a chemical or physical marker added to materials to allow various forms of testing.
Lear MoreLawmaker urges House to probe tobacco smuggling
A PARTY-LIST lawmaker urged Wednesday members of the House of Representative to conduct an inquiry on the alleged smuggling of tobacco products into the country. AAMBIS-Owa Party-list Representative Sharon Garin said that the government has been losing some P15.6 billion pesos in revenue annually in the illegal smuggling operations of tobacco products. Garin filed House Resolution 1542 directing the House committee on ways and means to conduct an inquiry to ensure that the government properly collects the revenues from tobacco products.
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Investigation finds smuggling at jails
Marijuana, narcotics, tobacco and alcohol are some of the contraband smuggled by correction officers at Rikers Island, in exchange for thousands of dollars from inmates’ relatives, an undercover city investigation found.
The city Department of Investigation released a report last week, about their months-long probe into the criminal activity and civil disorder at the country’s second largest correctional facility. They found that even when contraband set off metal detectors at the staff entrances, security personnel allowed correction officers to walk in without searching them.
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COUNTERFEITING: Man Bags 11 Years Imprisonment
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has secured the conviction of a middle-aged man who specializes in counterfeiting various alcoholic drinks. A statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja by the agency’s Director, Special Duties, Dr AbubakarJimoh, said that the landmark judgment was delivered by the Presiding Judge of the Federal High Court Port-Harcourt division, Justice R.M Aikawa who sentenced the accused person, Sunday Okeke, on a four-count charge of violating Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome processed Food Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Lear MoreTurkey comes across biggest smuggling case to date
Turkey has launched a major operation aimed at bringing down a suspected gang that illegally brought in over 1,000 tons of beef from Paraguay, the customs minister has said, describing the haul as Turkey’s biggest ever smuggling case.
Turkish investors last week carried out raids on five storage spaces in the southern city of Mersin, where 1,044 tons of smuggled red meat had been stored, said Customs Minister NurettinCanikli.
“The meat was supposedly going to Syria and Iraq through the border gate of Cilvegözü, according to the customs documents. We, however, discovered that almost all of the meat was sold on the Turkish market without any duty being paid,” he said.
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Lawmaker urges House to probe tobacco smuggling
A PARTY-LIST lawmaker urged Wednesday members of the House of Representative to conduct an inquiry on the alleged smuggling of tobacco products into the country.AAMBIS-Owa Party-list Representative Sharon Garin said that the government has been losing some P15.6 billion pesos in revenue annually in the illegal smuggling operations of tobacco products.Garin filed House Resolution 1542 directing the House committee on ways and means to conduct an inquiry to ensure that the government properly collects the revenues from tobacco products.
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Honeywell’s major win against scanner counterfeiters In China
The Honeywell 7120 Scanner is one of the best-selling products in Honeywell Scanning & Mobility’s portfolio. Honeywell has announced a win to combat counterfeit products in Kaiping, Guangdong province, China. By working with the local Public Security Bureau, the owner of an underground operation accused of making and selling counterfeit Honeywell 7120 Scanners has been detained for further interrogation. This is another important victory for Honeywell in protecting its intellectual property rights and trademark, and the company’s determination to protect the interests of its consumers.
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