12 million fake phones and accessories seized in Dubai
Dubai: More than 12 million counterfeit mobile phones and mobile accessories were seized by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai between January and September this year.
The counterfeit products were valued at more than Dh327.4 million.
EbrahimBehzad, Head of Intellectual Property Rights division at DED, said intensive scrunity from authorities like the DED and Dubai Police led to counterfeiters “thinking up new and innovative ways to hide and make their counterfeit products”.
Behzad was speaking at the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA) conference on combating intellectual property crimes on Monday.
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Nearly 1 billion smuggled cigarette packets annually consumed in Vietnam
Nearly one billion smuggled cigarette packets are consumed in Vietnam each year, causing losses of over 10,000 billion Vietnamese dong, or some 450 million US dollars, to its state budget, local media reported Sunday.
The cigarette smuggling also causes losses of one million jobs for farmers and workers in the domestic tobacco industry, Central Vietnam Television (VTV) quoted statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City-based Vietnam Tobacco Association as reporting.
In the last two years, Vietnamese police forces nationwide detected nearly 4,000 cases of cigarette smuggling, confiscating more than nine million packets, and prosecuted over 300 cases, VTV quoted statistics from the Ministry of Public Security.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1010266.shtml
Investigation into illegal electronics smuggling ends in arrest of two Russians and a Brooklyn man
Federal agents arrested two Russian nationals and a Brooklyn man with dual citizenship Thursday who are accused of smuggling high-tech electronics overseas in violation of U.S. export law.
Dmitrii Karpenko, Alexey Krutilin and Alexey Barysheff were taken into custody on charges related to what investigators described as an illegal scheme that put national security at risk. They each face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.
Mr. Barysheff, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Russia, masterminded the scheme by using two Brooklyn-based front companies to buy digital-to-analog converters, integrated circuits and other microelectronics that were then shipped to his home country without a license, the Justice Department said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/7/investigation-into-illegal-electronics-smuggling-e/
Two men arrested following raids in Catfield in investigation into £2.24 million tobacco smuggling fraud
Two men have been arrested by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) during raids linked to an investigation into a suspected £2.24 million tobacco smuggling fraud.
Share article from onfacebook Tweet article from Share article from on Google Pluspost article from on reddit email article from HMRC, accompanied by officers from Norfolk Police, seized 7.3 million suspected illicit cigarettes from a unit in Catfield late on Tuesday, before searching private addresses in Essex and East London on Wednesday.
The cigarettes, computers, paperwork and £1,500 in cash were seized during the operation.
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Ukrainians smuggle Apple devices from abroad to save money
Despite average salaries of only $2,000 per year, many Ukrainians still long to possess an iPhone.
But while U.S. customers can buy a new iPhone 6S for $549, Ukrainians have to pay $730 for the same model at an official distributor’s store. So many Ukrainians opt for cheaper, smuggled Apple gadgets.
Hand-held electronics are easy to transport and pound-for-pound are more profitable than other goods. As a result, devices such as Apple smartphones, tablets and watches are popular with Ukrainian smugglers.
https://www.kyivpost.com/technology/ukrainians-smuggle-apple-devices-abroad-save-money.html
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Customs seizes $150,000 of fake Australian skincare products: The challenge of fighting counterfeiters in Australia
Counterfeit skincare products to the value of $150,000 have been seized by customs officials after the goods were shipped into the country from China with a fake “Australian Made” logo.
Australian Made Campaign Ltd (AMCL) has an agreement with the Australian Border Force through which products coming into the country with the “Australian Made, Australian Grown” logo can be intercepted by customs officials.
Five thousand units of skincare products that were copies of genuine Australian items from the brand Eaoron will now be destroyed, according to Australian Made.
Australian Made deputy chief executive Ben Lazzaro says this case highlights the range of challenges faced by businesses as a result of the e-commerce boom.
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Low taxes on tobacco products give green light to Ukraine’s smugglers
With cigarettes being so cheap in Ukraine, there’s a wide margin for smugglers to make a good profit. Moreover, the low cost of smoking takes a toll on the nation’s health, with high rates of smoking-related diseases and deaths.
Yet parliament is in no hurry to increase taxes on tobacco. In defiance of calls by anti-smoking activists to raise tobacco taxes to combat smuggling and improve the nation’s health, the Rada’s tax and customs committee has been protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, as well as blocking laws to restrict cigarette advertising.
Add to that the rapid fall in the value of the hryvnia, the currency having lost two-thirds of its value over the last two years, the illicit cross-border trade in cigarettes has continued apace. In 2016, even high-level diplomats have been caught illegally transporting cigarettes to Hungary.
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Agency joins force with Customs to stop rice smuggling
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) and the Nigeria Customs Service are partnering to increase surveillance in monitoring activities at the border posts to curb rice smuggling.
The Acting Director-General, NAFDAC, Mr Yetunde Oni, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Oni said that records showed that rice imported through the seaports were registered as good quality as pronounced by satisfactory reports from NAFDAC laboratories while those smuggled through the land borders were unregistered and largely substandard.
http://pulse.ng/local/nafdac-agency-joins-force-with-customs-to-stop-rice-smuggling-id5568724.html
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Christian Dior wages war with online counterfeiters
Luxury brand Christian Dior has targeted a number of online counterfeiters in a trademark infringement lawsuit.
In a filing at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division on September 28, Dior claimed that the defendants had sold counterfeit clothes and fashion accessories featuring the Dior trademarks.
“The defendants create the defendant internet stores by the hundreds and design them to appear to be selling genuine Dior products, while actually selling counterfeit Dior products to unknowing consumers,” said the filing.
http://www.worldipreview.com/news/christian-dior-wages-war-with-online-counterfeiters-12351
Low taxes on tobacco products give green light to Ukraine’s smugglers
With cigarettes being so cheap in Ukraine, there’s a wide margin for smugglers to make a good profit. Moreover, the low cost of smoking takes a toll on the nation’s health, with high rates of smoking-related diseases and deaths.
Yet parliament is in no hurry to increase taxes on tobacco. In defiance of calls by anti-smoking activists to raise tobacco taxes to combat smuggling and improve the nation’s health, the Rada’s tax and customs committee has been protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, as well as blocking laws to restrict cigarette advertising.
Add to that the rapid fall in the value of the hryvnia, the currency having lost two-thirds of its value over the last two years, the illicit cross-border trade in cigarettes has continued apace. In 2016, even high-level diplomats have been caught illegally transporting cigarettes to Hungary.
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