Fake goods worth millions confiscated in two EC busts.
The authorities have seized millions of rands worth of goods in two separate incidents at the Port of Ngqura and on the N2 to Cape Town.
In the first incident, the drama started when police received information about a shipping container destined for East London which was due to arrive at Ngqura.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Sibongile Soci said on Friday that members of the Border Police supported by members of the South African Revenue Services and accompanied by a shipping agent inspected the container on June 28.
“The container was full of different types of counterfeit goods worth a total of R45,553,400.”
The goods comprised 7,200 pairs of branded sunglasses valued at R10,800,000, 960 Tommy Hillfiger belts valued at R960,000, 52,000 Smooth Pens valued at R104,000, 360 Swiss Gear backpacks valued at R360,000, 400 Gucci sling bags valued at R360,0000, and 1,413 branded watches valued at R29,729,400.
https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2019-07-05-fake-goods-worth-millions-confiscated-in-two-ec-busts/
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NIA arrests man from Bengal in fake currency seizure case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested an absconding accused in the Bhiwandi Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) seizure case from Malda district in West Bengal, an official said.
Sabir Jullur Rehman Ali was arrested from his hometown Safdarpur in Malda district, he said.
He was actively involved in procurement, trafficking and supply of counterfeit currency notes, he said.
Sabir Ali’s name had cropped during interrogation of other accused who were apprehended in 2018 from Bhiwandi in neighboring Thane district, the NIA official said.
Earlier, six people were arrested in connection with the seizure of 239 fake currency notes, all in denomination of Rs 2,000 and having a face value of Rs 4.78 lakh, in Bhiwandi, he said.
The accused were identified as Rehan Shaikh, Shafahad Ansari, Anees Shaikh, Kishor Fular and Rohit Singh (all held from Bhiwandi) and Samir Kalicharan Mandal (arrested from West Bengal), he said.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nia-arrest-bengal-fake-currency-1562383-2019-07-05
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Over 6 Kg Smuggled Gold Worth 2.17 Crore Rupees Seized in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad: Gold weighing over 6 kg and valued at Rs 2.17 crore was seized from 14 passengers who arrived here from a gulf nation after performing Umrah, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Wednesday.
According to a DRI release, the gold was smuggled into the country on Tuesday by concealing “on person” and the accused did not have any documents to prove the legal import of the yellow metal.
The total weight of the foreign gold recovered and seized under Customs Act, 1962, is 6.46 kg worth around 2.17 crore, it said.
Explaining the modus operandi, the sleuths said the economically disadvantaged people who wanted to perform Umrah (pilgrimage) in Saudi Arabia were lured by agents, who sponsored their trip.
During the return journey, the passengers were asked to carry gold, which would be collected by someone on the instructions of the agents.
Gullible pilgrims were blackmailed by agents in Saudi Arabia with consequences of penalty or recovery of full charge of Umrah should they not act as per instructions.
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More than 40,000 illicit cigarettes seized from high street store.
More than 40,000 illicit cigarettes and nearly 5kg of rolling tobacco have been seized in a sting operation by Waltham Forest Council and HMRC. On first inspection of the 98p Plus Extra shop in Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, officers confiscated more than 11,000 cigarettes and 1.68kg of rolling tobacco which violated UK legal requirements for labelling and packaging tobacco products. During a later inspection, Waltham Forest Trading Standards discovered another 30,020 illicit cigarettes and 3.65kg of foreign rolling tobacco that violated tobacco products regulations. On June 13, Mr Salim Ahmed, director of Bismillah London Ltd, the company owning the shop, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates court to ten charges brought by Waltham Forest Trading Standards for the sale of illicit tobacco products. Mr Ahmed previously stated he received the tobacco from an unknown eastern European man who persuaded him to sell it to boost his profit margins and he said he had not inspected the cigarettes purchased.
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Customs officials seize US$61,450 worth of counterfeit goods on truck entering Hong Kong from mainland China.
Hong Kong’s customs officers have seized about 2,000 suspected counterfeit items, ranging from shoes and watches to sunglasses, worth about HK$480,000 (US$61,450). The Customs and Excise Department said in a statement on Tuesday that its officers intercepted a truck coming into Hong Kong from the mainland at the Man Kam To Control Point last Thursday. The contraband was found in the truck’s cargo compartment. The driver, a 58-year-old man, was arrested. “The investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further inquiries,” the department said. In Hong Kong, importing or exporting counterfeit items is a violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. The maximum penalty is a fine of HK$500,000 and five years in prison. Counterfeit items are a common sight in shops and street market stalls across the city, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Temple Street.
Lear MoreMMEA Pahang foils attempt to smuggle in 2,000 cartons of cigarettes.
KUANTAN: The Pahang Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) foiled an attempt to smuggle 2,000 cartons of cigarettes worth RM300,000 including taxes in water off Kuala Rompin near here, last Friday. Pahang MMEA deputy director (operations) Capt V. Pannir Selvan said the Force 10– and Double 7– branded cigarettes were believed to have been abandoned at Pantai Batu 7, Kuala Rompin by two male suspects upon realising the presence of the authorities. He said the 11.30pm raid was carried out following six months of intelligence–gathering as well as tip–offs from the public. “Two men on a fiberglass boat were believed to be transferring the smuggled cigarettes into a lorry waiting at the roadside, but as soon as they realised the MMEA’s presence, the two men sped off in the boat. The MMEA boat pursued them, but could not catch up.
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Hologram trade body claims 86% of US counterfeit goods now come from China.
In a Global Impacts Study, by the International Chamber of Commerce it says the global value of counterfeit and pirated goods could be $1.77 trillion.
Dr Mark Deakes, general secretary, IHMA, told BeverageDaily, the US report is a sobering reminder the war on counterfeiting remains far from won and is a wake-up call for those desperate to protect brands and profits around the world.
“More action needs to be taken quickly if the tidal wave of Chinese counterfeit goods flooding onto the market is ever to be checked, let alone stopped,” he said.
In the drinks industry alone, hologram counterfeit preventative packaging is on the rise. This year saw the launch of a hologram cap byKISICO and Morphotonix.
The hologram design is integrated into the production process of the cap, and includes nanotechnology protection against counterfeiting and a tamper evident ring.
Canadian company CCL Label has developed patented technology to supply holographic labels to customers with 3D effects.
3D Optical Variable Device
Toronto-based CCL said its 3D OVD (optical variable device) technology – situated at its plant in Holzkirchen, Germany – uses a printing process for all sub-microscopic gratings (including holograms) to be produced and applied in-line with other print.
And, API which makes foils, laminates and holographs for brand enhancement and packaging protection for the snacks, beverage and confectionery industry expanded in the UK and Poland last year.
Deakes added, the hologram trade body wants organizations to urgently review and step up its security plans to stem the ‘tidal wave’ of counterfeit goods flooding out of China.
“More needs to be done – and quickly – to begin to deal with the problem and this might include increased integration of holograms as part of brand protection strategies,” he said.
Increasing adoption of holography in places like India and east Europe reinforces the hologram’s position as a pre-eminent security feature in the global anti-counterfeiting fight.
Lear MoreDRI: Gang smuggled Rs 1,000 crore gold in eight months till racket was busted.
MUMBAI: Directorate Revenue of Intelligence (DRI), probing the 110kg gold smuggling case, involving businessmen from Mumbai and Kerala, revealed that the gang smuggled more than 3,000kg of gold worth Rs 1,000 crore in eight months. A DRI official said the accused smuggled gold in 24 consignments from July last year to March this year, when the racket was busted and 14 persons were arrested. “During scrutiny, it transpired that the syndicate smuggled 3,396kg gold, which is one of the biggest seizures in recent years. Hence, the accused were detained under stringent sections of Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act (COFEPOSA),” said a source. As Bombay high court said COFEPOSA was not applicable on technical grounds last week, DRI will move the Supreme Court on Monday. Officials said if the accused are released, they may smuggle gold again.
DRI has so far confiscated nine cars, Rs 2 crore, and 185kg gold worth Rs 60 crore. They will confiscate properties of the main players, Dubai businessman Nisar Aliyar, jeweller ‘Happy Dhakkad’, Manoj Jain, financier Ashfaq Shiningwala, hawala operator Aquil Fruitwala and Shoeb Zoradarwala. DRI is also writing to Enforcement Directorate as the accused have diverted proceeds of the crime to accounts outside the country too.
DRI busts gold smuggling racket, uncle-nephew duo arrested in Kolkata.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a “corporate type smuggling” racket and arrested a mastermind and his relative who were involved in many cases with the seizure of about 360 kg of gold worth over Rs 108 crore in the past five years, an official said on Wednesday. Taking a cue from the seizure of 8 kg gold, about 74 kg of silver jewellery and 3 kg of ganja with a cumulative value of Rs 3.31 crore from a bus plying from Siliguri to Kolkata, the DRI sleuths arrested the “uncle-nephew duo” who were instrumental in successfully ferrying huge quantity of smuggled gold from various bordering locations. “Four persons were arrested in the seizure of gold, silver and narcotics. Further investigations led to the apprehension of two more persons, including the mastermind and his relative, who were behind a series of cases in which about 360 kg gold valued at more than Rs 108 crore have been seized over the past five years,” a DRI official said.
Lear MoreGuns earlier, now gold smuggled from Myanmar is worrying India.
“Gold is the biggest contraband from Myanmar,” T Bijando Singh, superintendent of the Imphal division of customs and stationed at Moreh along the Myanmar border said.
When militant outfits in the northeast started laying down arms five-six years ago, the parallel economy that depended on them took a hit. Arms smuggling had been big across the India-Myanmar border. The routes were in place. So were the networks of carriers. All that was needed was a new product. So a switch was made — from AK-47s to gold.
“Gold is the biggest contraband from Myanmar,” T Bijando Singh, superintendent of the Imphal division of customs and stationed at Moreh along the Myanmar border, told TOI. Gold enters India as biscuits, each weighing 166g and with no mark of origin, from deposits in Kachin and Kayin states and the four regions of Mandalay, Sagaing, Bago and Tanintharyi. “Gold consignments change hands quickly,” Singh said.
The first stop is Imphal, from where gold is sent out — by road through Dimapur in Nagaland or Silchar in Assam and then by rail or air to Kolkata or New Delhi. From these points, it is distributed to other parts of India. Most gold seizures by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have been from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, which are big consumption centres of smuggled gold. And the gold is of high quality — with a purity of 99.76%.
Customs seized 3,223 kg gold worth Rs 974 crore in 2017-18. A DRI report adds that smuggled gold that ends up being seized accounts for just 5-10% of the total illegal trade – which means that even by conservative estimates the gold smuggling market in India is worth at least Rs 9,000 crore.
Driving this gold rush are three factors. Myanmar’s gold is cheaper, at least Rs 400-500 lower per gram than Indian gold. Import duties in India are high — 10% customs duty and 3% GST. And while Myanmar does not allow trade of gold in its native form, the product’s demand is the highest in India. Sources say a share of the gold exported by India to the Middle East is from the stash originally smuggled in from Myanmar.
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