Businessman jailed for his part in NZ’s largest cigarette smuggling case
A businessman has been jailed for his role in the country’s largest cigarette smuggling case.
The man and his company have interim name suppression and appeared at the Auckland District Court on Thursday after earlier admitting charges of defrauding customs, making erroneous entries in customs documents and selling goods without paying duties.
The operation involved the smuggling of over 19 million cigarettes into Auckland, hidden inside office cabinets imported from China. The smuggling avoided excise customs duties of over $18 million.
Judge Tony Fitzgerald sentenced the man to five years and three months in prison and his company to fines.
He described the offending as being on a “massive scale” that was complicated, went on for nearly three and-a-half years and was motivated by greed.
Contraband cigarette arrest points to smuggling in the military – Marais
The soldier caught with a haul of apparently illegal cigarettes has again, according to a Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, raised questions about contraband and specifically smuggling of tobacco products by uniformed personnel.
Kobus Marais, who holds the defence and military veterans portfolio in his party’s shadow cabinet, told defenceWeb exclusively he had information about cigarette smuggling in the ranks of soldiers – particularly those deployed on the border protection tasking Operation Corona.
“The Seshego arrest at the weekend is, to me, further confirmation of smuggling activities in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF),” he said, calling the non-commissioned officer’s arrest “an embarrassing act of defiance by soldiers supposed to protect South Africans, the national economy and the integrity of the country”.
Soldiers doing border protection are most likely to have opportunities for smuggling. As part of normal patrol work they encounter smugglers as well as undocumented people. While contraband is supposed to be handed to police and SA Revenue Service (SARS) personnel, Marais maintains this is not always done. Moving illicitly acquired illegal cigarettes can happen by using official vehicles.
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P17-M shipment of fake cigarettes from China seized anew at Port of Manila
A container filled with counterfeit cigarettes from China was uncovered at the Port of Manila Wednesday, the Bureau of Customs said.
Several boxes containing fake Mighty and Marvels cigarettes worth P17.38 million were found in a shipment when Customs agents opened a container consigned to Mvetisery Industrial Supply.
According to the bureau, the shipment, which arrived from China on May 22 at the Port of Manila, was placed on hold and was issued with a Pre-Lodgement Control Order last May 27 after a derogatory information was received by the port from the Customs’ Enforcement Group.
Upon 100-percent physical examination on Wednesday, June 3, the assigned Customs examiner assessed total duties and taxes amounting to P9.96 million.
Warrants of Seizure and Detention against the entire shipment has been ordered by District Collector Arsenia Ilagan for violation of Section 1401 “Unlawful Importation or Exportation” in relation to Section 1113 “Property Subject Seizure and Forfeiture” of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
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Customs conducts inventory of seized machine, counterfeit cigarettes
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) in this city conducted Monday, June 1. an inventory of all seized cigarettes, equipment and materials that the bureau had confiscated recently inside a warehouse in Pagadian City.
Zamboanga City Bureau of Customs District Collector Segundo Barte said the inventory showed the cigarette-making machine alone had an estimated market value of P100 million, while the seized cigarettes tobacco and materials were estimated at P20 million.
“Our estimate of the seized machine and tobacco products to reached P120 million, and this was one of our major accomplishments during the first few months of the year,” Barte said.
He noted: “Our raid to the bodega in Pagadian City strongly send a signal to manufacturer of fake cigarettes to stop their nefarious activities or be jailed for violation of government rules and regulations in the manufacturing of tobacco leaf products.”
Lear MoreMillions of sub-standard face masks seized at Heathrow since pandemic began
Millions of sub-standard face masks and thousands of fake hand sanitisers have been seized at Heathrow since the coronavirus pandemic started.
London Trading Standards said the majority of masks seized had been labelled with false claims or fake safety certificates and around 4.25 million had to undergo label amendments before they were released.
A total of 2.25 million masks were found not to comply with legal safety standards. Trading standards teams examined a further 1.5 million face masks and no issues were found.
Many of the consignments were referred to trading standards by Border Force teams at the airport. The teams also seized 8,000 fake hand sanitisers, branded Andrex and Comfort, at the airport.
Suspicions were raised as they had identical packaging and labelling, except for the brand name, and the same batch code on the entire consignment. Identical fake sanitiser products have been found on sale in Bexley by trading standards officers, officials said.
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Malta seizes over US$1 billion in ‘counterfeit’ Libyan money, says US
Moscow on Saturday (May 30) denied US reports that US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in Libyan money printed in Russia and seized by Maltese authorities was counterfeit.
The US State Department hailed Malta’s announcement about the seizure, saying it was “ordered by an illegitimate parallel entity”.
Russia’s foreign ministry insisted that the notes printed by Joint Stock Company Goznak – a Russian state-owned company – were legal tender.
Friday’s statement from the US State Department, said: “The Central Bank of Libya headquartered in Tripoli is Libya’s only legitimate central bank.
“The influx of counterfeit, Russian-printed Libyan currency in recent years has exacerbated Libya’s economic challenges.”
There was no official statement on Saturday from Valletta, although Malta Today newspaper had published a report about US$1.1 billion in counterfeit money seized in Malta on its Facebook site that was no longer available.
But the statement on Saturday from Russia’s foreign ministry said: “We would like to note that under the conditions of de facto double power in Libya, there are currently two central banks.”
Lear MoreWebinar on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, New delhi
29/05/2020 | New delhi
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the dangers posed by illicit trade. It calls for greater focus on addressing the growing hazards of counterfeiting and smuggling which are severely impacting the economy and endangering lives of people. While the government is continuously intensifying efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus by enacting various measures to support public health systems, safeguard the economy and ensure the safety of its citizens, illegal operators are taking full advantage of the pandemic. It is evident that they will use shortages in the supply of goods to increasingly provide illicit alternatives especially in essential and non essential items both online and offline. The current situation which is already witnessing a severe socio-economic distress, sale of such spurious goods will only worsen the problem. Hence, arresting the sale of illicit goods at the time of this unprecedented crisis needs our immediate and unwavering attention.
As the risks associated with the current pandemic rises, law enforcement services play a crucial role in contributing to the effort to control the disease, promoting safer communities, and fighting criminals who take advantage of the outbreak.
With the above backdrop in mind, FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy [CASCADE] organized a webinar on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond on 29th May 2020.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. O P Mishra, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police. Dr. Mishra said, “Increasing surveillance, creating public awareness, coordination amongst law enforcement agencies and stakeholders, and capacity building for police officers are needed to counter the problem of counterfeiting and smuggling effectively”. He further added that the gap between demand and supply results in the emergence of counterfeit and smuggled goods in the market. Talking about this menace in the Indian market, he remarked that counterfeiting has increased so much that it has become very difficult to distinguish between the genuine and fake products.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE made the welcome address and mentioned that “Just like COVID-19, illicit trade is also an invisible enemy which has no colour, no religion and no mercy on human beings. In times of such economic crisis, when legitimate businesses are struggling, illicit operators are trying to exploit the current situation by flooding the market with smuggled and counterfeit goods.”
Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi emphasised that COVI19 has provided opportunity to criminals to exploit the current situation to find new ways to make money. They are increasing and diversifying their activities through a wide range of crimes and scams which exploit the fear and uncertainty surrounding the virus. In particular, an increase in counterfeit healthcare products, fraud and cybercrime is being seen. This problem will only increase with respect to essential and non essential goods as relaxations take place and normalcy resume.
Several industry players and brand owners from leading companies participated in the webinar and deliberated on industry issues and challenges in containing the flow of illicit products during the current crisis and the need for strengthening enforcement & surveillance mechanism. Discussions revolved around the collaborative role of police and industry in thwarting this menace. Leveraging emerging technologies to battle illicit operators during the pandemic was also highlighted.
CASCADE, has been over the years working closely with government, industry, enforcement officials, legal fraternity, consumer organizations and the youth to create awareness on the adverse impact of this menace. One of FICCI CASCADE’s mandate is capacity building of law enforcement agencies and we have worked extensively and intensively in this area organizing training programmes for police officers across India and interactions with the law enforcement authorities to emphasize on the importance of awareness and seriousness of the impact of counterfeit and smuggled goods.
Fake cigarettes manufactured locally seized in Pagadian City
Counterfeit cigarettes and materials used in manufacturing fake cigarettes were uncovered in a warehouse in Pagadian City during a raid by Customs agents, the Bureau of Customs said Friday, May 29.
Several boxes of cigarettes bearing the brands of Two Moon, Mighty, Union, and Farstar among others were confiscated in a warehouse allegedly used to manufacture fake cigarettes for distribution in Zamboanga Peninsula last May 20.
In a belated report from the Customs bureau, had the boxes of cigarettes went to the market, the locally-made counterfeit cigars would generate around P14 million.
Some materials used in producing the fake products including machines worth P100 million were also found in the warehouse, Port of Zamboanga Acting District Collector Sigmundfreud Barte, Jr. said.
According to Barte, the operation was conducted by the Zamboanga Peninsula inter-agency team composed of the regional offices of Bureau of Customs, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippine Coast Guard, and local police.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/05/29/fake-cigarettes-manufactured-locally-seized-in-pagadian-city/
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Customs foils distribution of P10.1-M smuggled cigarettes in ZamBaSulta area
Hundreds of cases of smuggled cigarettes intended for distribution in the Zamboanga, Basilan, and Sultan Kudarat (Zambasulta) area in Mindanao were intercepted Tuesday when authorities staked out to respond to an intelligence report.
Assorted cigarettes bearing the brands Gundang Baru, Cannon White, Famous, Canyon, Berlin and Fort worth P10,125,000 were seized by a joint team from the Port of Zamboanga, local police, and Joint Task Force Zamboanga in Istanbak, Barangay Lower Calarian, Zamboanga City.
According to the bureau, the seized cigarettes “most likely came from Malaysia or Indonesia” and are intended for distribution in areas in the Zambasulta area.
Following an information that that certain individuals are engaged in cigarette smuggling in Lower Calarian, the joint team trooped to the area to intercept the operation, the Customs bureau furthered.
The seized cigarettes were later turned over to Port of Zamboanga for issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violation of Executive Order No. 245 titled Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products and Section 117 of RA 10863 otherwise known as Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
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DRI sleuths seize cigarettes worth Rs 3 crore in Andhra Pradesh
VIJAYAWADA: Sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 29,99,600 foreign brand cigarettes worth Rs 3 crore which are being smuggled to Vijayawada on Sunday. The DRI officials also compounded the vehicle used for transporting the stock.
Acting on a tip-off that ‘PARIS’ brand cigarettes are being illegally transported, the DRI-Vijayawada unit launched an operation and intercepted a container truck bearing registration number RJ11 GB3685 on its way from New Delhi near a godown at P Nainavaram village.
Upon inspection, DRI officials found that the vehicle was loaded with HDPE woven sacks containing goods stitched from the top end where the cigarettes were kept hidden under stainless steelware. When questioned, the driver told officials that the vehicle started from New Delhi with another driver and after reaching Gwalior, he took over the vehicle and drove to Vijayawada as per the instructions of his management.
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