Smuggling of gold, cigarettes, liquor surges amid COVID.
New Delhi: Gold, cigarettes and liquor were among high tax items which topped the list of smuggled goods across India amid the current coronavirus crisis that has led to economic distress.
Smuggling of these goods not only registered a sharp spike amid the pandemic but also smugglers, interestingly, used innovative measures like ferrying illegal cigarettes in COVID-19 special trains.
Revealing the fact based on a study of seizure of such smuggled items, FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) said Customs officials had two significant seizures of smuggled cigarettes at the New Delhi railway station where the smugglers were using COVID-19 special trains for ferrying these products in less than a week.
These seizures come on the back of two other significant busts of foreign cigarette smuggling rackets, the first in Mumbai and the second one in Hyderabad, said the study, adding the combined value of the seizures is over Rs 15 crore.
https://www.siasat.com/smuggling-of-gold-cigarettes-liquor-surges-amid-covid-1923943/
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Shanghai police seize $242 million in fake products, vowing to protect IP rights.
Shanghai police have reportedly seized copycat products worth more than 1.7 billion yuan ($242 million) this year, destroying some 240 dens that produce, store or sell counterfeit items.
During a special campaign focusing on cracking down on intellectual property (IP) violations codenamed “Kunlun 2020,” police in Shanghai said they have solved more than 230 related cases, and protected the legitimate rights and interests of more than 60 brands, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.
One of the latest cases involved counterfeit bags of famous brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Chanel worth more than 50 million yuan. Shanghai police have arrested and charged nine suspects, responsible for making the bags and selling them through online stores, said CCTV.
The case caught the attention of Chinese netizens on Tuesday, with many Weibo users applauding the effort of Chinese authorities in cracking down on counterfeit products and protecting IP rights.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1194561.shtml
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33-kg-gold smuggling case: Hari Sharan Khadka, alleged supplier arrested from airport.
Hari Sharan Khadka, 42, one of the fugitives of the 33.5 kg gold scam, was arrested on Saturday after Tribhuvan International Airport immigration staff found Khadka’s criminal record in their database while he was trying to exit after landing in Kathmandu.
Khadka, who hails from Kavrepalanchok district, was identified as one of the owners of a huge cache of gold that was seized by the Central Investigation Bureau.
According to a CIB report, submitted to the District Attorney Office in March 2017, Khadka and Guptalal Bhusal aka Roshan were the suppliers of the 33 kg gold illegally brought from Dubai as they were running a gold smuggling racket from the United Arab Emirates.
According to Ramesh Kumar KC, director-general of the Department of Immigration, Khadka was arrested after the immigration department found the record of his involvement in criminal activities during a regular inspection.
“We have the software linked with Interpol data, which has records on fugitives and wanted criminals,” said KC. During the check, when Khadka’s passport details matched the records of wanted criminals, police were informed.
More Than $3.1 Million Of Counterfeit Watches Seized At O’Hare.
United States Customs and Border Protection officers seized 193 counterfeit watches worth more than $3.1 million at the International Mail Facility at Chicago O’Hare between June 21 and July 6, CBP officials confirm.
CBP officers seized 175 parcels, most of which were inspected because they were mis-manifested and had x-ray anomalies.
Most of the watches were Rolex. The watches were inspected and appraised by an import specialist, and most were deemed counterfeit due to poor package, low value and poor quality. If the watches were real, the value would have been $3,172,438.
“This is a significant seizure for CBP, but unfortunately, CBP officers see counterfeit shipments like this every day,” said Shane Campbell, Area Port Director, Chicago. “Counterfeit goods like this, come in by the truck-load on a nightly basis all across the nation threatening businesses and conning the consumer.”
According to CBP, on a typical day in 2019, officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with intellectual property rights violations.
107 kg gold sneaked in via Kochi airport this year in diplomatic bags.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As much as 107 kg of gold is estimated to have been sneaked in inside diplomatic baggage through Kochi airport this year, with its end destination remaining unclear. This has prompted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case, highly placed sources told TNIE.
Intelligence sources said the gold arrived in various consignments and it need to be ascertained whether the booty had ended up with extremist groups or those who are engaged in floating a parallel economy.
“The central agencies felt the case needs in-depth probe. It’s not just about 30kg of gold. There are a lot of other questions that need to be answered. Where did this much gold go? Who are the end users? Did it go to a single place or multiple destinations? The probe is expected to unravel all these mysteries,” said an intelligence source.
The sources added that the seized 30kg was the largest consignment sent via the diplomatic channel and the other consignments were of lesser quantities. The agencies have found out that since January, Swapna Suresh had travelled abroad up to five times and, on two occasions, she was accompanied by a senior bureaucrat.
Fake currency with face value of Rs 55 crore seized in Pune.
Fake currency with a face value of more than Rs 55 crore has been seized from a bungalow in Pune, and senior police officials believe the figure could rise as the counterfeit notes were still being counted on Thursday.
Six men arrested in connection with the seizure, including army personnel, are being interrogated and will be produced in court by Thursday afternoon.
The money was found in a bungalow at Sanjay Park in Viman Nagar during a joint operation by Pune Police and Military Intelligence.
The arrested men were identified as Lance Naik Shaikh Alim Gulab Khan, a member of the Indian Army bank at Bombay Sappers, Sunil Badrinarayan Sarda, from Kondhwa area of Pune, Ritesh Ratnakar from Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, and Tufail Ahmed Mohammad Ishaq Khan, Abdul Gani Rehmtullah Khan and his son Abdul Rehman Abdul Gani Khan of Meera Road in Mumbai.
“The lance naik rented the bunglow for Rs23,000 eight months ago. He was the one who was involved in procuring the money. Prima facie, the owner of the place has no involvement in this,” said additional commissioner of police (crime) Ashok Morale.
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Noida: 3 Conmen Held With Fake Notes Of Face Value Rs 13.20 Lakh
The police also said they recovered 14 wad of notes from the trio in which only 10 notes were in real Rs 500 currency and remaining 2,641 were fake. Three men have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida for allegedly duping people by promising to double their money, and fake currency notes with face value of Rs 13,20,500 seized from them, police said on Tuesday.
The police also said they recovered 14 wad of notes from the trio in which only 10 notes were in real Rs 500 currency and remaining 2,641 were fake.
“Altogether Rs 5,000 in 10 real notes and 2,641 counterfeit notes of Rs 500 denomination, totalling Rs 13,20,500 in face value were seized from them,” a police spokesperson said.
“During probe, they told police they would lure gullible people by promising to double their money. They would ask them for some Rs 500 currency notes in order to double it. They would later return them double the number of notes with mostly fake notes except for the one on the top of the wad,” the spokesperson said.
The accused were held in Jewar area and have been identified as Krishna Sharma, Rajesh Kumar and Ravi Sharma, all three natives of Aligarh district, the police said, adding their car was also impounded.
Lear MoreWebinar on Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, West Bengal
07/07/2020 | West Bengal
Even in normal times, there has been a growing recognition of the threat that illicit trade such as smuggling and counterfeiting pose to the stability, safety and security of a nation. But now, with the onslaught of the Covid-19 crisis, concerns are growing that the scale and scope of such activities could be increasing as authorities are distracted and overwhelmed by the unprecedented health crisis and the corresponding economic fallout. It is difficult to fathom the long-term impact of COVID-19, however, its detrimental effects are expected to disrupt supply chain operations of organizations.
These disruptions open up multiple avenues for fraudsters to prey upon susceptible organizations and consumers. New vulnerabilities may emerge, and existing vulnerabilities may be at a greater risk of exploitation by fraudsters. Hence, tackling this global scourge becomes even more acute and urgent in the current scenario. More so, as a result of the supply chain disruptions, globalisation has now taken a back seat and nations are increasingly looking inwards to fulfill their needs and requirements. PM’s clarion call to promote local manufacturing and local goods will also play a crucial role to eliminate this illicit trade as it will reduce the demand of imported goods and deter cross border smuggling of goods.
It is with the above background, 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 7th July 2020. The webinar focused on the state of West Bengal and was a part of a series of such interactions to be organized across the country by FICCI CASCADE to highlight this issue and elicit response from different states.
Mr. Sadhan Pande, Minister–in-Charge, Consumer Affairs Department, Govt. of West Bengal was the chief guest at the programme said, “Counterfeiting and smuggling are two major economic crimes that are happening around the globe and the West Bengal government is making extra efforts to combat such crimes even during this pandemic.” Hon’ble Minister also invited CASCADE to join hands with his department to run a campaign on the subject in West Bengal.
West Bengal is a big state, both in terms of size as well as population. It shares boundaries with three countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Unfortunately, the smugglers and counterfeiters have been persistent in their unlawful activities. As per DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), over the past one year, about 200 cases involving outright smuggling have been booked in the East and North East India by the DRI and Customs formations in these regions, resulting in seizure of goods worth Rs 480 crores, mainly coming from Myanmar and Bangladesh through the land borders apart from goods seized at the international airport and port in Kolkata).The major commodities smuggled outright into India from the eastern and north eastern India, include gold, silver, FICN, cigarettes, black pepper, readymade garments, toiletries and cosmetics, wild life, dates, electronic goods etc.
Mr. Deepankar Aron, Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata remarked that smuggling and counterfeiting is the second most significant illegal trade. Citing recent major detections effected by DRI and Customs formations, Mr. Aron said that in last one year, 570 kgs of gold valued at Rs 220 crores and foreign currency worth Rs 30 crore was seized. He also added that several cases of smuggled cigarettes were detected where a total of 2.6 crores of cigarette sticks valued at around Rs 26 crores were also seized.
DRI has been working on addressing wild life smuggling apart from combating various other types of Cross Border Crime. Illegal wildlife trade ranks as the fourth largest transnational organized crime globally, only after the illegal trade in Narcotics, Counterfeit goods and Human trafficking. Mr. Aron highlighted that there is an unfortunate and increasing trend in smuggling of endangered and exotic fauna from different parts of the world into India.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE welcomed all and thanked the Minister of Consumer Affairs, West Bengal Government, for his suggestion that the West Bengal government and FICCI CASCADE join hands and work together on the extremely important aspect of consumer awareness. Mr. Rajput emphasized that Illicit trade is indeed a big menace, and collaborations between all stakeholders is needed to eradicate this evil, which has made deep inroads in our country.
The interactive session was moderated by Mr. Hem Pande, Former Secretary, Dept. of Consumer Affairs, GoI who highlighted that the menace of illicit trade is impacting jobs, economy and creating havoc all around the world. Strengthening enforcement and empowering consumers to combat such crimes should be the constant endeavour. The webinar was attended by several participants from industry, government officials, officers from the enforcement agencies and stakeholders in this segment.
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Huge cache of premium liquor seized in village near Ranchi.
Ranchi police on Thursday seized a huge cache of India made foreign liquor (IMFL), which peddlers were planning to smuggle to neighbouring Bihar, a state where manufacture, sale and consumption of liquor is prohibited.
A team from Pithoria police station seized the consignment from an abandoned building in Oena village, around 30 km from here, in the wee hours of Thursday and nabbed four peddlers, who confessed to smuggling liquor to Bihar, police said.
“We are still calculating the quantity of liquor. It comprised bottles of premium and expensive brands, which would have been smuggled to Bihar for sale in the black market,” said Ranchi SSP S.K. Jha.
Tests were on to determine whether the liquor in the bottles was genuine, mixed with local brands or illicit.
But Jha said the catch was crucial as it would lead police to people who were involved in bottling liquor in Ranchi and other parts of Jharkhand. “We have to understand the gravity of the matter. Illicit liquor poses major health risks to consumers,” he said.
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$1.6 million in illegal cigarettes seized.
Over $1.6 million of illegal tobacco has been seized and taken off the streets by local police.
On July 5, members of the Dryden OPP were conducting traffic enforcement duties on Highway 17 east of Dryden, when they stopped and investigated two vehicles.
Between the two vehicles, police found and seized 386 cases of illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of $1.6 million.
Contraband tobacco seizures in the Dryden area on April 30, May 10, May 16, May 26 and June 3 seized over $1.3 million worth of illegal cigarettes heading to Manitoba and other western provinces, says the OPP.
The Government of Ontario’s Ernst and Yount Report commissioned in the fall of 2018 found that the government is losing over $750 million in province excise tax to the illicit trade, combined with the federal excise tax losses, the total is over $1 billion.
https://www.drydennow.com/local/1-6-million-in-illegal-cigarettes-seized
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