Black market in tobacco booming in the streets of Sydney, with cheap Asian imports flooding the streets
IT IS emerging as one of the most lucrative illegal trades on the streets of Sydney’s southwest, but it’s not drug dealing or car boosting — it’s smuggling cigarettes. Last month, in seven raids across Fairfield and Bankstown, police seized more than 500,000 smuggled cigarettes and $1 million cash.
Detective Superintendent Murray Chapman, from the NSW Property Crime Squad, said illicit cigarettes were usually made in South-East Asian factories before being smuggled into Australia and sold in legitimate businesses. “We have been made aware of cases where fake cigarettes have been found to contain mould, faeces and even asbestos,” Supt Chapman said.
Lear More
HK Customs responds on enforcement against illicit cigarettes
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – Regarding a study on illicit tobacco in Hong Kong released today (September 9), the Customs and Excise Department, in response to media enquiries, said that Customs has been sustaining vigorous enforcement against illicit cigarette activities at all fronts, including smuggling, distribution, storage and peddling activities. With Customs’ stringent enforcement actions, illicit cigarette activities have reduced significantly. In the first eight months this year, public complaints recorded a drop by 16% as compared to the same period last year. A Customs spokesperson said that the strategy of enforcement at source remains to be effective with 15 significant (more than 500 000 sticks of illicit cigarettes) cases smashed till end of August this year. This was effective in preventing the smuggling of illicit tobacco into the territory.
Lear More
Alibaba Group signs anti-counterfeiting deal with CBBC
Alibaba Group has signed a deal with a British trade body that will help members of the UK organisation protect their IP across the China e-commerce company’s sites.Under the agreement, Alibaba will work with members of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) to remove product listings that allegedly infringe their rights, subject to takedown notices.The CBBC will also provide guidance to its members on using the existing notice-and-takedown systems provided by the Chinese company, whose sites include Alibaba.com and Taobao.com.
Lear More
Amazon not liable for copyright infringement, US court rules
A US court has rejected an appeal from the owner of sandybeachgifts.com, Sandy Routt, who claimed that online retailer Amazon is responsible for copyright infringement by its affiliate websites.
Routt claimed that some of the participating sites in the Amazon Associates programme, an arrangement between certain websites and the online retailer where they advertise Amazon products in return for fees for marketing, used photographs taken by her on their sites without permission.
Lear More
Trucker Caught with About $1.8M of Illegal Tobacco
MONTREAL, QC— A truck driver was arrested by the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) after 15,330 kg of tobacco was found in his tractor semi-trailer on August 20. The CBSA, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Sûreté du Québec stated they thought there was a smuggling risk with the truck when it pulled into the border. They referred the driver and his vehicle to a complete inspection and found the tobacco hidden behind boxes of fresh vegetables. “This operation is the result of combined efforts with our partners to address the problem of large-scale tobacco smuggling,” said Benoît Chiquette, Regional Director General, CBSA, Quebec Region. “Seizures of this magnitude remove significant quantities of illicit tobacco from the contraband market.” According to CBSA, one kg of loose tobacco has an estimated value of around $120. That means that a 15,000-kg load is worth about $1.8M on the street.
http://www.todaystrucking.com/trucker-caught-with-about-18m-of-illegal-tobacco
Lear MoreCurbing the Menace of Illicit Trade and Tobacco Smuggling
Abimbola Akosile examines the tobacco industry in Nigeria, with focus on illicit trade and illegal smuggling of products and government’s attempts to check and regulate a lucrative sector. Someone once told this reporter a simple fact about Nigeria. He said, albeit in a cynical manner, that if one wants any item to flourish in Nigeria’s huge markets, just wait for the government to ban that item.
To back his argument, he pointed at rice, frozen poultry products, and used tyres, which although under the import prohibition list, still daily flow into Nigeria through both monitored and porous borders, generating billions in illicit trade.
Visits to the right markets only serve to buttress the cynic’s position, which only goes to show that although regulation and checks may be in place, no product can actually remain effectively banned in Nigeria. But that is a topic for another day.
Lear More
Rare Wine Dealer Sentenced in Counterfeiting Scheme
“The same old wine in a brand new bottle” is a phrase that aptly describes how fraudsters deceive the public in ever-changing ways. It applies perfectly to Rudy Kurniawan’s profitable and long-running counterfeiting scam—except that Kurniawan was putting new wine in old bottles.Earlier this month, a New York federal judge sentenced Kurniawan to a 10-year prison term for his elaborate counterfeiting scheme in which he mixed newer, cheaper wines together and poured them into old bottles with forged labels.When FBI agents executed a search warrant at Kurniawan’s California home in 2012, they found wine-making materials everywhere in plain sight. “Essentially, the entire house was a fake wine-making laboratory,” said Special Agent Adam Roeser, who helped investigate the case out of our New York Division.
Lear More
Police Officers Training- Capacity Building Programme, Delhi
FICCI CASCADE organized a Police Officers Training Programme at the Specialized Training Center, Rajender Nagar Police Station, New Delhi on August 06, 2014. The principal purpose of the program is to share with the police officers some of the issues and challenges faced by industry which could help in understanding some of the real problems face on ground, and to keep these aspects while taking action against counterfeiters and smugglers. Mr. Kishan Kumar, Special Commissioner, Training, Delhi Police was the Chief Guest at the programme.
Seminar ReportDownload Pdf
Seminar on ‘Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy’, Bangalore
FICCI CASCADE organized a Seminar on ‘Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy’ on August 05, 2014 at Bengaluru. The seminar discussed the role of media and consumer organisations in increasing awareness on the subject and enforcement issues in addressing this menace. Besides focusing on the losses to the government and industry, the seminar also highlighted growing link between counterfeit & smuggled activities and organized crime. Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs, Government of Karnataka was the chief guest at the programme.
Seminar Report
Roundtable on Smuggled and Counterfeit Food Products – July 2014, New Delhi
24/7/2014 | New Delhi
FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) in association with the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, GoI organized a Roundtable on Smuggled and Counterfeit Food Products on 24 July, 2014 at New Delhi to enhance knowledge support and learning on the subject and formulate prevention and management strategies.
The smuggled and counterfeit food products business is ‘doing well’ in our country affecting the health of our consumers. In the FMCG industry, packaged food sector is vulnerable to counterfeiting and smuggling. Counterfeiting in this area is particularly dangerous because consumption of non-standard or low quality edible food items may cause serious health ailments or be life-threatening.
Data shows that counterfeit and smuggled food products are being produced and consumed in virtually all economies, with Asia emerging as the single largest producing region. In recent years, there has been an alarming expansion of the types of products being infringed, from luxury items to items that have an impact on personal health and safety, like food and drink. The range of counterfeit and smuggled food products vary from conserved vegetables, milk powder, butter, ghee, baby food, instant coffee, alcohol, drinks, candy and sweets, hybrid corn seeds, etc. Thus the magnitude and effects of smuggling and counterfeiting on food items are of such significance that they call for strong and sustained action from the governments, business, and consumers.
A recent FICCI CASCADE study stated that in the packaged food sector, the grey market is about 23.4% which results in direct tax loss of Rs. 552 crore; Indirect tax loss of Rs. 5,108 Crore, and thus total loss to the exchequer amounts to Rs. 5,660 Cr. The sales loss to the industry was reported to be about Rs. 20,378 Crore.
Mr. Keshav N Desiraju, Secretary, Dept. of Consumer Affairs was the chief guest at the roundtable, he urged the stakeholders to come together to fight the menace of smuggling and counterfeiting. Mr. Desiraju stated that the consumers are allowing the smuggled and counterfeit market to flourish hence sustained consumer education and awareness is imperative. Mr. Desiraju also emphasized on a national movement on anti-smuggling of food products in the country.
Dr. A. Didar Singh, Secretary General FICCI mentioned that 21st century is seeing the emergence of consumers and FICCI is acting as a conduit between businesses and consumers.
Mr. P. C. Jha, Advisor FICCI CASCADE in his address stated that the costs of counterfeiting and smuggling are not only real, but are huge. With the increase in global trade and technological revolution, there has been an increase in commission of crime related to smuggling and counterfeiting. These types of crime have increased considerably, and as a result, the government, businesses, society, and consumers have to suffer heavy financial losses. Protection against such crimes is an important element in encouraging research and innovation, international trade and investment, and sound economic growth and development.
The roundtable was attended by decision makers from Government, Quasi Government bodies and regulators such as Bureau of Indian Standards, National Test House, Legal Metrology, Consumer Protection Unit, FSSAI; leading industries such as ITC, Marico, Coca Cola, Nestle, HUL etc. and prominent Consumer Organizations such as VOICE, CUTS, CERC, Consumer Online Foundation etc who deliberated on specific issues on counterfeiting and smuggling activities in the packaged food sector. The roundtable focused on four product categories, namely, Milk & Milk Products, Bakery products + cereals (like ‘atta’), Aerated water + Mineral water, and Edible Oil – all food products which have a direct impact on the health and general welfare of consumers.
The roundtable will chart out concrete recommendations and strategies for prevention, mitigation, and management of the problem and will present a paper to the Ministry in a month’s time. The recommendations would include Focus on rural market- food product of mass consumption; Reinventing the “Jago Grahak Jago” publicity campaign especially with reference to food products; Comparative testing; Class action suits; Structured consumer awareness syllabi for young India; Market surveillance and Industry support and partnership initiatives.
Lear More