Spike in cigarette smuggling during COVID-19 lockdown: FICCI
Industry chamber FICCI’s arm on Monday said several cases of seizures by enforcement agencies of smuggled imported cigarettes reported in the last few months indicate a spike in cigarette smuggling during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy), said the seizure of foreign brand cigarettes worth Rs 11.88 crore from a container at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Navi Mumbai on June 12, by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is one of the biggest seizures since lockdown.
“The trend is nationwide, with seizures intercepted via road transport, in cargo and passenger luggage,” FICCI CASCADE said in a statement.
Expressing concern FICCI CASCADE Chairman Anil Rajput said, “cigarette smuggling is a big racket across the globe and India continues to remain a hot bed for this menace. Even as the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis, the seizures of such goods remain high.”
Citing a recent study, FICCI CASCADE said while cigarette smuggling has now become highly lucrative activity, it has caused 3.34 lakh job losses and urged for more active vigilance.
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Punjab goes after liquor mafia, over 8L litres lahan seized in less than a month
The clean-up operation against illicit liquor production and inter-state smuggling comes at a time when the state is staring at an annual loss of over Rs 600 crore in terms of non-collection of Excise Duty due to curbs to battle Covid-19.
In its crackdown against liquor mafia, the Punjab government has recovered 34,083 litres of illicit liquor in less than a month. Further, a whopping 8.32 lakh litres of lahan (raw material mixed for distillation of illicit liquor) and 1.16 lakh litres of licit liquor meant for smuggling has also been recovered as per figures available till Friday.
The drive, titled Operation Red Rose, has led to registration of 3,490 cases under the Excise Act, arrests of 2,664 accused. The clean-up operation against illicit liquor production and inter-state smuggling comes at a time when the state is staring at an annual loss of over Rs 600 crore in terms of non-collection of Excise Duty due to curbs to battle Covid-19.
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Cebu customs seize P76 million of ‘fake cigarettes’ from China
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Customs officials in Cebu seized at least 1,522 boxes of suspected fake cigarettes shipped from China, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) here announced.
In a statement on Facebook on Thursday, June 11, 2020, BOC – Cebu Port announced that the value of the alleged fake cigarettes amounted to P76 million.
The boxes containing the cigarette packs, they said, were found inside one container van. Based on the photos posted by BOC – Cebu Port, each box was stamped with an illustration of kitchen utensils such as cooking pots and oval dishes.
“The shipment, which was consigned to Giomab Trading and misdeclared as ‘oval dish,’ arrived from China on Wednesday, June 10, 2020,” the agency said.
Before the confiscation took place, BOC – Cebu said a Pre-Lodgment Control Order was issued upon the container after they received a “derogatory report” from its Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service.
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Chaygaon Police seized fake currency notes worth Rs 6 lakh; three arrested
BOKO: Chaygaon Police seized fake Indian currency notes of Rs 500 denomination totalling Rs 6 lakh at Chaygaon on Tuesday night.
Chaygaon PS officer in-charge Kapil Pathak led a team and seized the fake currency notes along with three persons. OC Pathak said that the three persons were caught red-handed from Chaygaon Ouguri Chowk with the counterfeit notes. Police also seized one Pulsar bike, one Maruti Suzuki WagonR car and six mobile handsets. The three arrested are Samsul Ali, Jiyaur Rahman from Agchia under Boko police station and Arphan Khan from Chaygaon Dhekenabori. One case has been registered 574/2020 under section 120B/420/511 in Chaygaon PS.
Lear MoreCounterfeiters are taking advantage of the pandemic. Here’s how to stop them
Counterfeiters are flooding markets with fake masks, coronavirus test kits, PPE worn by frontline workers, medicine and medical equipment used for healing patients afflicted with COVID-19.
Last week, the European Anti-Fraud Office announced that they had already identified 340 companies trading in counterfeit products linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The large majority of these fake goods are ineffective if not downright dangerous, and deceive both patients and doctors who trust that they are using genuine and effective treatments. This reduces the likelihood of patient recovery, and generally disrupts efforts to stop or slow the spread of the virus.
That counterfeiters have quickly seized on this new market opportunity shouldn’t come as a surprise. Whether a luxury handbag or watch, a medication or a bottle of wine, anything with a brand name attached to it will be counterfeited. The exterior or packaging of many counterfeits look identical to the genuine products, while the product itself is usually malfunctioning, made with inferior components, or at the very least does not adhere to proper manufacturing practices.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/counterfeiters-pandemic-how-to-stop-them/
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Pune: Fake Indian, foreign currency of Rs 87 crore ‘value’ seized; jawan among 6 arrested
Fake Indian and foreign currency notes — including play currency notes marked ‘Children’s Bank of India’ — of a total face value of Rs 87 crore were seized in a joint operation of the Military Intelligence and Pune City police on Wednesday. A serving Army jawan along with five civilians has been arrested in connection with the case.
The stash was found in a bungalow in Viman Nagar in an action conducted on Wednesday afternoon that started with a decoy team being sent to the racketeers. Primary probe has revealed that the suspects were part of a racket of exchanging fake notes for genuine ones during currency exchange transactions. Investigators believe that the modus operandi of the suspects was to accept genuine notes and, in return, give stacks of notes, some of them genuine, some good-quality fake currency and some play notes.
The joint operation was conducted by the Southern Command Liaison Unit (SCLU) of Military Intelligence (MI) and teams from the Crime Branch of Pune City Police.
Lear MoreDelhi Police busts liquor smuggling gang, seizes 1,008 quarter bottles of alcohol
Delhi Police busted a gang involved in smuggling liquor from Haryana into the national capital and seized 21 boxes (1,008 quarter bottles) of ‘Impact Grain Whisky’ meant for sale in neighbouring Haryana only.
Police seized the boxes of illegally smuggled liquor from a car that was being driven by one Anil Kumar, a resident of Suraksha Vihar in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area. Kumar has been arrested.
The accused, Anil Kumar, was carrying the illegal consignment in a car for supplying to bootleggers in Uttam Nagar and Dabri area when the vehicle was intercepted by the police. An investigation underway to search and arrest other members of the syndicate.
The gang used to illegally smuggle huge quantities of liquor from Haryana to Delhi to evade the 70 per cent ‘Special Corona Fee’ imposed in the national capital.
To prevent car-jacking and theft of motor vehicles, the Dwarka Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) often conducts surprise vehicle checks by placing barricades at vulnerable places and also by carrying out extensive patrolling in markets and isolated stretches in the area.
Lear MoreThousands Of Unapproved, Counterfeit COVID-19 Tests And Medications Seized At Port Of Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — 14,000 COVID-19 treatment capsules and dozens of COVID testing kits were seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore. Both the treatment capsules and testing kits were all imported from China and are all completely fake. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, so too do the scams. It’s why HSI launched a nationwide operation, Operation Stolen Promise, to seize COVID contraband.
The Baltimore-based team of agents found the COVID-19 treatment capsules at the Port of Baltimore, hidden in boxes under packets of Chinese tea. “It was no secret to law enforcement that there were going to be people trying to take advantage of the pandemic,” said John Eisert, HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge.
More than anything, said Eisert, his team is concerned about what’s inside the capsules, that promise to relieve COVID patients of their symptoms. “In prior seizures of pharmaceuticals, we’ve seen ingredients such as sheet rock and pesticides and lead,” Eisert told WJZ.
HSI teams across the country are also trying to take down websites where these products are available to be purchased and shipped to America.
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/06/09/port-of-baltimore-coronavirus-tests-medications-seized/
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Authorities Seize Thousands of Counterfeit HP Products in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria
The battle against counterfeit products distribution continues as IT company, HP, together with local authorities have been able to seize about 200,000 counterfeit products in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.
As reported, the products included HP-branded printer cartridges and modules that were meant to be used to assemble further counterfeits. In Kenya alone, the authorities successfully confiscated 5,400 counterfeit toner cartridges from 12 retail outlets in February 2020.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, saw a series of police raids between October 2019 and March 2020, resulting in the requisition of about 185,000 illegal items. According to HP, one of the raids was thanks to a consumer report to Customer Delivery Inspection (CDI), a unique, free protection service available to HP’s large and medium customers.
Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities worked with the company to impound 7,100 illicit items in a series of outlet shop raids.
This initiative by HP is just a small part of the greater war against the trade of counterfeit products in the continent as pledged by various electronics companies including HP and LG.
https://gadgets-africa.com/2020/06/08/counterfeit-hp-products-seized-kenya-tz-nigeria/
Lear MoreCBP Has Seized Nearly 900,000 Counterfeit and Unsafe COVID-19 Supplies
Customs officers have picked up hundreds of thousands of unapproved test kits, unproven medicines and substandard protective equipment.
As the pandemic crisis wears on, Customs and Border Protection says it has amassed a sizable collection of “counterfeit, unapproved or otherwise substandard COVID-19 products that threaten the health and safety of American consumers.”
Criminals and scammers never let a crisis go to waste, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. Since the outbreak, criminals have updated classic scams, including impersonating health officials to steal personal information, price gouging and fake treatments, and newer schemes like embedding malware in tracing apps.
Fraudsters are also exploiting the shortage of resources needed to combat the virus by bringing counterfeit goods across borders.
“Among other products, these criminals are smuggling and selling counterfeit safety equipment, unapproved COVID-19 test kits, unproven medicines and substandard hygiene products through the online marketplace,” according to a CBP release.
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