EC seizes 7.79L litre liquor in dry Bihar
The enforcement agencies are making headlines in Mumbai for going after Bollywood actors for possession and consumption of even small amount of narcotic substances, but in poll-bound Bihar the quantum of seizure has failed to grab eyeballs though the amount is baffling.
The authorities have seized a large quantity of ganja, marijuana, poppy, tobacco, and cannabis showing why prohibition has become such a big issue in Assembly polls this time. Over 7.79 lakh litre liquor, 4871.99 kg ganja, 108 kg marijuana (charas), 1.5 kg heroine, 40 kg tobacco, 3,350 kg cannabis (bhang), 12.50 kg poppy, and 150 gram brown sugar have been seized by the Election Commission so far till the voting of second phase of polls in Bihar.
In addition, the EC has also seized `24.84 crore unaccounted money, over `90 lakh Nepalese currency, 19.68 kg gold and precious ornaments, 275 kg silver.
In a related development, Janata Dal (United) MLA from Matihani, Narendra Kumar Singh, alias Bogo Singh, was arrested late on Monday in Begusarai district for allegedly distributing money to voters’ hours before polling began in the second phase of the Assembly election.
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/pioneer-exclusive/ec-seizes-7-79l-litre-liquor-in-dry-bihar.html
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Duplicate Branded Footwear Worth Rs 59 Lakh Seized In Gujarat
A team of Gujarat CID-Crime seized fake branded footwear and bags collectively worth Rs 59.19 lakh from a shop in Vadodara city, officials said on Wednesday.
A team of Gujarat CID-Crime seized fake branded footwear and bags collectively worth Rs 59.19 lakh from a shop in Vadodara city, officials said on Wednesday.
The shop was selling fake goods of multinational and well-known brands such as Nike, Puma and Adidas, the CID-Crime said in a release.
Based on a specific tip-off, a team of CID-Crime raided the shop named Super Sale in Panigate area of Vadodara city on Tuesday and seized shoes, slippers and bags worth Rs 59.19 lakh and arrested the owner Salim Memon, it said.
A case in this regard was registered with Vadodara zone police station of the CID-Crime.Primary investigation revealed that Memon, a resident of Ajwa road in Vadodara, had purchased these fake products of well-known brands from Delhi and sold the goods here claiming that they were original.
Lear MoreMan held for trying to smuggle foreign currency worth Rs 11.89 lakh to Dubai: Customs
New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) A man has been arrested by customs officials at the international airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle out foreign currency worth Rs 11.89 lakh, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused was intercepted when he was proceeding to board a flight to Dubai on Monday, they said.
A personal and baggage search resulted in the recovery of foreign currency worth Rs 11.89 lakh concealed in handbag and undergarments, the officials said.
The passenger, a native of Kairana under Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, has admitted to smuggling out Rs 35.38 lakh in past visits, they said, adding that the accused has been arrested.
In another case, the customs officials have arrested a man for allegedly smuggling into the country e-cigarettes pod box worth Rs 9.37 lakh at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.
The accused was intercepted on his arrival from Dubai on Tuesday and the customs officials seized “790 Juul e-cigarette pod box” from him, they said, adding that the passenger has been arrested.
Lear MoreDuplicate clothes of branded companies worth Rs 1 crore seized
SURAT: A team of CID crime raided a warehouse in Mota Varachha area and nabbed 11 persons for allegedly dealing in duplicate clothes of branded companies on Saturday.
Garmets worth Rs one crore including T-shirts, track pants and shorts with brand names of Adidas, Reebok, Levi’s and Calvin Klein were seized in the raid.
Those arrested used to sell the garments in the city as well as different parts of state and neighbouring states as well, police said.
The racket of duplicate products with logos of top brands and names was being run through social media, investigation revealed. They got the products manufactured in Tirupur or Telangana.
Police arrested Hitesh Sihor (23) and his 10 partners and booked Santosh Kumar, owner of Indigo Trends and resident of Tirupur, for supplying the garments to the accused.
“They were selling these clothes at almost one-fourth price of the actual products and supplied to distributors who sold them to retailers,” said an officer of CID crime.
The retailers sold the products through websites, WhatsApp groups, Instagram and Facebook.
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Campaign on #MyCovidStory
31/10/2020
Sharing is caring, and there is no better time to share inspiration, ideas, and stories than now! The #MyCovidStory and #PeopleofCASCADE campaign was a storytelling initiative and a part of FICCI CASCADE’s (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a story-telling competition where participants shared their experiences on: how they felt, acted, and thrived from their encounter with counterfeit, fake and smuggled products during the challenging Covid-19 times. The objective of this competition was not only to generate awareness on the issues of counterfeiting and smuggling but also to inspire people to shun illicit products.
FICCI CASCADE has been actively working towards consumer awareness by highlighting the menace of fake, counterfeit and smuggled products, besides emphasizing how such illicit trade activities has become a serious threat to public health and safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately seen a surge in the availability of fake, falsified and substandard medical, healthcare and other consumer products. Many people are day-in-day-out proving to be key actors when it comes to finding solutions to global problems such as counterfeiting and smuggling. My COVID Story was an open invitation to all to share their stories by means of written testimonials to amplify their voices; CASCADE received an overwhelming response from people and shared their impactful stories on its social media handles.
Esteemed member of FICCI CASCADE Think Tank: Mr. Najib Shah, Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Mr. Hem Kumar Pande, Former Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Ms. Kameswari Subramanian, International Expert, Customs Law, Procedures & Trade Facilitation judged the competition. Winners of the competition were:
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Kerala gold smuggling: DRI nabs four at airport
KOCHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted four passengers who arrived at the airport with 5.2kg of compound gold from Dubai on Sunday.
After extraction, 4.05kg of gold worth D2.12 crore was recovered. The arrested are Mohammed Kunju Mahin of Malappuram, Muhammed Arjas of Kozhikode, Shamsudheen of Kozhikode and Kamal Mohaideen of Tamil Nadu.
“The DRI intercepted the accused who were trying to exit the airport via green channel. All of them were wearing knee caps in which packets containing compound form gold was concealed,” said DRI sources.
Lear Morewebinar on Combating Counterfeit and Smuggled and Pirated goods- During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond ,Kerala
27/10/2020 | Kerala
Be Vocal for Local and Prevent Illicit Trade
Illicit trade, smuggling and counterfeiting have been a huge challenge for humankind for many decades where they rob the government of its rightful revenue, pose health and security hazards to citizens and create a plethora of problems for the society at large. While the centre and state governments have been playing a proactive role in dealing with this issue, FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) has also been highlighting the ill effects of this adversary and eliciting response from stakeholders to concertedly address this problem especially during the current crisis. It is with the above background that FICCI CASCADE organized a webinar on ‘Combating Counterfeit and Smuggled and Pirated goods During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond’, on 27th October 2020 focusing on the State of Kerala. The webinar was a part of a series of such events which are being organised across the country as part of a nation-wide awareness campaign to highlight the issue and focus on the growing menace of illegal trade.
Mr P Thilothaman, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Govt. of Kerala, was the Chief Guest at the webinar. In his inaugural address, Mr P Thilothaman said, “We need to create consumer awareness and substantially reduce the illicit market operations for a conducive environment for growth and development in the country.” He further added, “Consumer awareness on fake and smuggled goods is low and hence many consumers are unaware that they are buying such goods and equally unaware of the consequences. Protecting and promoting the welfare of consumers has become one of the major concerns of our government and organizing awareness programs such as these will help to educate and sensitize the consumers.”
Mr Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE welcomed the dignitaries and during his address, complimented the Kerala Government for their high levels of vigil to deter any illicit activities in the state. He said, “Despite having multitude of challenges owing to COVID-19, the enforcement agencies of Kerala have seized large number of illicit liquor, fake sanitizer products, gold, tobacco products and much more.” Highlighting the Prime Minister’s Vocal for Local initiative, Mr Rajput emphasised, “I could not imagine a better time for the Hon’ble Prime Ministers clarion call of Vocal for Local-Atmanirbhar Bharat, which to my mind could alleviate the pain and catapult India to even greater heights in the future.”
Dr M I Sahadulla, Co-Chair, FICCI Kerala State Council and MD, KIMS Healthcare Management Ltd. said, “Kerala being a consumer state, the opportunity is more for illicit traders. Hence, it is essential to create awareness and put an end to such nefarious activities.”
Mr. P. C. Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in his address said that among the different aspects of economic activity, manufacturing in small and medium enterprises which engages large number of people has been severely impacted because of COVID-19 and lockdowns and hence there is an urgent need to put it back on its feet. Promoting local manufacturing and use of indigenous products will not only increase share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP, create job opportunities in India and drive home the value of indigenously produced goods, but will also build ‘Brand India’ and deter cross border illicit trade.
Perspectives from Kerala Police was shared by Mr S Sreejith, IG, Crime, Kerala Police; Mr Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Custom, Preventive, Kerala Customs shared the custom department’s vision in addressing the issue. Some of the key suggestions included:
- • Need for a wide scale programme to educate both industry and citizens about the dangers of smuggled and counterfeit goods.
- • Convergence of the stakeholders to address the menace of counterfeiting and smuggling.
- • Information based preventive action is a key tool to catch the perpetrators of illicit trade.
The webinar was also addressed by industry leaders from diverse sectors including Mr Deepak L Aswani, Co-Chair, FICCI Kerala State Council and Managing Partner, Lachmandas & Sons; Mr V Noushad, Managing Director, VKC Group Companies; Mr Varkey Peter, Managing Director, Mothers Agro Foods Pvt Ltd.; Mr Paul Francis, Managing Director, KLF Nirmal Industries (Pvt) Ltd and Mr Dileep Narayanan, Head-Bullion & Treasury ,Malabar Gold Private Ltd. They highlighted that the problem of illicit trade has only compounded in the current situation, where criminals have used the pandemic as an opportunity to cause significant damage on the economy of the nation, health, and safety of the consumers. The speakers also reiterated that consumer safety, safeguarding legitimate businesses while promoting indigenous production will play a significant role in the path to our economic recovery.
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Customs officials at Chennai airport seized US $18,600 from a Dubai-bound passenger
Customs officials at the Chennai International Airport seized US $18,600 from a Dubai-bound passenger, who had concealed the bills in his innerwear and cigarette packet.
According to officials, the passenger, 26-year old Syed Ali from Chennai, was intercepted after clearing immigration formalities at the departure terminal. He was bound for Dubai via Air India Express Flight.
On frisking, three bundles wrapped with black adhesive tape were recovered from his underwear. The bundles contained US $15,600 and a cigarette packet in his handbag contained US $3,000.
Total of US $18,600 in denomination of US $100 bills, equivalent to Rs. 13.7 lakh were recovered and seized under Customs Act 1962 r/w F.E.M. (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015.
Earlier on October 20, based on intelligence on gold smuggling, Customs officials in Chennai seized gold paste of 24K purity, weighing 842 grams, valued at Rs 44.4 lakh, from two passengers who had returned from Dubai.
Lear MoreCustoms destroys P21-M fake cigarettes, tobacco-making machines seized at Manila port
Various fake and smuggled cigarettes and machines used in manufacturing counterfeit cigarettes were recently destroyed by the Bureau of Customs.
A total of 2,305 reams of smuggled cigarettes branded as Marvel, Two Moon, Mighty and Astro and machines used to create counterfeit cigarettes and cigarette packaging were destroyed at a rendering facility in Porac, Pampanga on October 19.
The items, worth P21 million, which were seized at the Port of Manila were destroyed through dismantling, crushing, and shredding.
Port of Manila District Collector Michael Angelo DC Vargas said that the port “shall actively conduct condemnation and auction proceedings in line with the guidance of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to ensure that seized items shall no longer be used.”
The condemnation was conducted through the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division (ACDD), Enforcement and Security Service Quick Reaction Team (ESS-QRT) and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS).
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Sarawak GOF cripples cigarette, alcohol smuggling activities
KUCHING: The Sarawak General Operations Force (GOF) today announced crippling cigarette and alcohol smuggling activities, as well as an illegal logging activity involving an overall seizure worth RM723,485.60.
Sarawak GOF Commander SAC Mancha Ata in a statement said the successful operations were carried out in Engkelili, Sibu and Marudi under ‘Ops Libas’ between Oct 19 and 21.
“The first operation was carried out on Oct 19, at 1.00 pm at a house at No 115, Jelukong in Engkilili (about 211km from here) which was suspected to be used as a storage facility for contraband goods,” he said.
The raid at the premises found 13 brown boxes containing 650 cartons of illicit white cigarettes of various brands.
“The seized items amounting to RM97,500 (including tax) was handed over to the Lubok Antu district police for further action under Section 135 (1) (D) of the Customs Act 1967,” he said.
In the second operation on Oct 19, Mancha said a team from the 10th Battalion of GOF in Sibu raided a logging site at Batu 40, Jalan Sibu-Selangau, about 464km from here, and seized an excavator, a bulldozer and 40 timber logs believed to have been cut down illegally in the area.
According to him, a man who claimed to be the owner of the excavator and bulldozer was arrested after he failed to produce relevant documents authorising him to carry out logging activities in the area.
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