ISI mark on your milk powder may be a counterfeit
Alarmed over fake baby milk powders circulating in the market, the Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA) that works closely with global authorities such as Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau (CIB), Interpol and FICCI Committee against counterfeiting and smuggling, has written to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to implement forensic features on products to ensure safety.
“As the recent scandal in China has shown, counterfeiters will go to any lengths for a quick profit, including putting babies at risk. To protect the 25 million babies born every year in India, it is essential to protect baby milk powders and other nutritional products from the scourge of counterfeiting,” said Nakul Pasricha, Vice President, ASPA. “This can be achieved by securing supply chains through authentication, track-and-trace and other digital solutions, as well as by applying tamper-proof or tamper-evident physical solutions onto packaging, such as security labels and holograms,” he added.
Fake Samsung phones worth Sh6.5m seized in Nairobi
The Anti-Counterfeit Agency seized 276 counterfeit Samsung phones worth Sh6.5 million during a swoop in Nairobi on Friday.
Two shopkeepers were arrested in the crackdown by ACA, working with Anti-Illicit Trade Agency Ltd, – the appointed Samsung brand protection agency.
The phones were found stocked in two electronic shops at Luthuli Avenue following a tip-off from members of the public.
“We had received particular information that there are stores trading cell phones from China with fake Samsung stickers,” ACA inspector Weldon Sigei said.
“We also obtained over 1,000 duplicate mobile telephone accessories including chargers,” Sigei said.
Sigei asked consumers of mobile phone and other merchandise to ensure that they buy their products from authorised dealers.
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/09/09/fake-samsung-phones-worth-sh65m-seized-in-nairobi_c1417205
Police roadblock yields RM114,000 worth of illicit cigarettes
BATU PAHAT: Police believe they have dealt a blow to a tobacco smuggling syndicate following the arrest of a 28-year-old man and seizure of RM114,000 worth of illicit cigarettes early today. District police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Wahib Musa said a team of police personnel, manning a roadblock under ‘Op Bersepadu’ at Jalan Kluang, found the stash of contraband cigarettes while inspecting a Naza Ria multi-purpose vehicle at 1.45am. He said the team found a total of 30 gunny sacks containing 22,800 packets of cigarettes worth RM114,000.
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172063/police-roadblock-yields-rm114000-worth-illicit-cigarettes
Lear MoreDON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY: Beware of counterfeit products
Counterfeit products used to be something you found on street corners in big cities. But not anymore. Now they’re show up online. 13 Action News Anchor Beth Fisher shows us what brands to be careful with, so you Don’t Waste Your Money.
The holiday season will be here before you know it. And many us are already starting to think about what we’ll want to buy. But before you make your shopping list, we have a warning about the most counterfeited products you may encounter. Legitimate looking websites are selling everything from phony North Face jackets, to fake Nike gym shoes that fall apart in weeks.
http://www.ktnv.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/dont-waste-your-money-beware-of-counterfeit-products
Lorry driver jailed smuggling 400,000 cigarettes through Dov
Lorry driver who tried smuggling more than 400,000 illegal cigarettes in ice cream boxes has today been jailed.Krzysztof Wiktorowicz, from Poland, was stopped entering Dover’s Eastern Docks in November 2014.He was jailed for 14 months after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.
Border Force officers stopped and searched Wiktorowicz’s refrigerated lorry and found what appeared to be 26 pallets of ice cream.But inside officers found two pallets containing 403,200 non-UK duty paid cigarettes.
HMRC estimated this was worth almost £100,000 in lost duty and taxes to the UK government.Wiktorowicz, 45, was arrested and jailed at Maidstone Crown Court today.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/trucker-jailed-for-smuggling-400000-102090/
Police must do more to stem counterfeit & illicit trade
Local industries, particularly those in the manufacturing and import sectors, have been reeling under an unjustifiable influx of counterfeit and illicit trade that is growing at a surprising phenomenal rate and thereby poses a clear and present danger to the economy.
It is against this backdrop that many industry watchers and players have lauded the recent capacity-building training programmeorganised by Sollatex Ghana Limited, dealers in consumer electronic goods, for officers and men of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
It became clear at the capacity-building training programme that that company was also affected by counterfeit trade as its products were being counterfeited and imported into Ghana for sale.
It is refreshing that Deputy Director General of the CID, ACP Dennis Abade, was quoted as saying at the training programme that the counterfeiting business was a global multi-billion crime which organised criminal groups used to amass wealth.
Smuggled cigarettes found in rubber plantation ‘may be linked to militants
POLICE in Pattani seized smuggled cigarettes worth Bt3.3 million from a rubber plantation in tambonThaKamcham of in NongChik district yesterday afternoon.
The 8,932 packs of smuggled cigarettes reportedly belonged to MarudingBinkasem and Kode Thor, who allegedly helped to fund militants led by Seri Taemamu and Russalan Baima.
These alleged militants have been linked to the bombing on the rail line in Pattani’sKhok Pho district late on Saturday, which killed one railway official and injured three others, as well as causing severe damage to the rear carriage of a local train. Pattani police chief Pol Maj-General ThanogsakWangsupha has said that Seri’s group may have been responsible for the attack.
It was reported that the cigarette-smuggling group was arrested for a similar offence last year and that time it led to the authorities discovering an insurgent base in NongChik, where explosives were seized and bomber suspect SabaliJehali was arrested.
Lear More
It’s Time For Real Talk About Fake Food
This may come as a bit of a surprise, butmany of the foods that are being sold to you may not be what they seem. Adulteration, fraud, and legal loopholes have led to a dire state of affairs for some of our favorite foods. Kobe beef burgers don’t actually exist. Cellulose has been found iparmesan n our. That sushi you had the other night might not have been the fishyou were promised.
So what? It was good, cheap, and filling. What’s the big deal whether or not the Chianti came from Italy or Connecticut, or if the white tuna was actually escolar?
Lear MoreAlibaba Failing to Deliver in Fight Against Fakes, Say Brands
As a U.S. trade agency considers whether to add Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to a list of marketplaces notorious for selling counterfeits, nearly a dozen trade groups are complaining that the Chinese e-commerce giant isn’t doing enough to root out fake goods.
In a letter sent to Alibaba in late August, trade groups including the Union des Fabricants, the French Federation of Leather Goods and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said that while Alibaba has taken “a great number of concrete steps” in its attempt to…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-failing-to-deliver-in-fight-against-fakes-say-brands-1472715631
Economists Tips Smuggling Boom If Cigarette Prices Raised 365%
A plan touted by some in the government to increase cigarette prices is likely to have a disastrous effect on tobacco farmers and encourage counterfeit and smuggling in the local market, a researcher has said.
Rumors of a price hike were sparked after research from the University of Indonesia’s center for health economics and policy studies found rising prices lowers cigarette consumption.
The research found that 71 percent of smokers would quit entirely if the price reached Rp 50,000 ($3.75) per pack.
DzulfianSyafrian, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said any price hike would substantially affect the industry, pointing firstly to laborers and farmers who would likely lose their jobs.