Counterfeit Botox imported from Hong Kong, FDA reveals
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged people to check product packaging carefully to avoid counterfeit goods, after several boxes of imported botulinum toxin injectable products were found to be counterfeit products that contained no botulinum toxin.
A package labeled as containing 11 boxes of botulinum toxin type A product — or Allergan’s Botox — sent from Hong Kong was intercepted by the Customs Administration and sent to the FDA for examination.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/03/13/2003641480
Lear MoreFake tobacco factory busted in city, 4 held
The special squad of the commissionerate police with the help of the Laxmisagar police on Saturday conducted raids on two separate units manufacturing fake tobacco products of popular brands at LaxmiVihar and Haldipadia slum in the city.
The police seized 30 bags of raw materials worth lakhs of rupees kept in the units for making of zarda, a tobacco product used as an ingredient in paan (betel). The police also seized two machines and chemicals used for packaging and making of the product respectively.
MEPs vote to end tobacco agreement
The agreement, first made in 2004 when the EU showed that the three major companies were colluding with the black market in tobacco smuggling that costs EU governments at least €10bn a year in lost taxes, is due to be renewed or ended by July.
But furious members of the European Parliament voted to end the agreement first drawn up by the European Commission in a deal to settle a court action against the companies long believed to be part of the smuggling racket.
They were even more incensed when it emerged that part of the €2bn being paid over 15 years by the big three companies was helping fund OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office that has been investigating dirty tricks by the industry.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/meps-vote-to-end-tobacco-agreement-386740.html
Lear More
8 checks to ensure your pesticide is not a fake
Growers are being urged to check their pesticides are genuine ahead of the spraying season, with an estimated 7-10% of products on the EU market being fake. Trade in illegal pesticides, involving organised criminal gangs, is increasing around the world, and last year Europol seized 190t of illegal counterfeit pesticides on the Continent.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/8-checks-to-ensure-your-pesticide-is-not-a-fake.htm
Lear More
Online Marketplaces Leverage Technology to Tackle Fake Products
Selling a product online allows businesses to reach a wider audience and new customers. Companies have started leveraging technology to reduce the rate of return of products faced by online marketplaces, reports Payal Ganguly for ET Bureau. Online marketplace Luxepolis is venturing into the trend by utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to tackle the problem of returns. Luxepolis sells products ranging from designer apparel to high-end automobiles. The company uses near-field communication (NFC) enabled tag and reader to decipher codes that are unique to every product in order to validate the returned item.
Lear More
Smuggling continues to grow
The cigarette black market continues to grow: 17.8%, in January 2016, compared to 17.5% in November 2015, according to the latest data provided by the Novel Research company, sent to ACTMedia by JTI Romania press office.
„Also in January 2016, the North-Eastern area continues to be the region most affected by the illegal cigarette trade, with a black market share of 36.8%, although it has decreased compared to November 2015, by over 10 p.p. The North-Western and Western areas also hold significant shares, although they are on a downward trend (28.3%, and respectively 26.7%).
http://actmedia.eu/daily/smuggling-continues-to-grow/62715
Lear More
Police seize tobacco allegedly smuggled by snowmobiles along St. Lawrence
Officials say they’ve broken up an alleged smuggling operation that was moving tobacco along the frozen shore of the St. Lawrence River on snowmobiles.
The Cornwall Regional Task Force says officers spotted five snowmobiles pulling snow tub sleds on March 2 and watched as the contents of the sleds were loaded into a cube van near Fraser Point, Que. Task force officers intercepted the snowmobile riders, while Quebec Provincial Police stopped the van and seized 2,678 kilograms of fine cut tobacco.
Eltingville husband and wife indicted in federal cigarette smuggling scheme
Fourteen people, including a Staten Island husband and wife, were indicted on federal charges for allegedly smuggling contraband cigarettes from southern states to sell in New York.
The defendants made a “substantial profit,” officials said, by purchasing large quantities of cigarettes in Missouri and Georgia, where the state tax is significantly cheaper, and selling them in New York, according to a 14-count indictment handed down Feb. 18 and unsealed last Thursday.
New York, which imposes a combined state-local tax of $5.85 per package compared with 22 cents in Missouri, lost more than $20 million as a result, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement.
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/eltingville_husband_and_wife_b.html
Lear MorePharmaceuticals And Food Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies Market To Witness Enhanced Rate Of Application Till 2020: Grand View Research, Inc.
Deceptive representation of an original food product and pharmaceutical is referred to as counterfeiting. Increasing growth of low quality and cheap counterfeit products mainly pertaining to the food and pharmaceuticals industries have promoted the rate of implementation of anti-counterfeiting technologies. Trace technologies, covert features enabling and overt/visible feature are some of the key technologies associated with anti-counterfeiting.
Cigarette smuggling goes up in Romania in January
The cigarette smuggling rate increased in Romania to 17.8% in January, compared to a rate of 17.5% in November last year, according to Novel Research.
The north-east region continues to be the most affected area in Romania by cigarette smuggling. The illegal tobacco market had a share of 36.8% in the total market in this region and there are villages in Suceava and Botosani counties where contraband cigarettes represent almost 90% of the total consumption.
http://www.romania-insider.com/cigarette-smuggling-goes-up-in-romania-in-january/166583/
Lear More