Men accused of $1m fake iPhone scam.
Two Chinese men studying in the US are accused of netting nearly $1m (£765,000) by sending “broken” fake iPhones to Apple for repair and getting official handsets in return. According to a criminal complaint filed last month, the counterfeit phones were shipped from China and the replacements were sent back there and sold on. Almost half of the fake iPhones were replaced with genuine ones. Both men claim they were unaware that the faulty phones were fake. Apple calculated that it lost $895,800 (£684,758) as a result of the alleged scam. Zhou Yangyang and Jiang Quan, students at Oregon State University, are named in the complaint. Both are Chinese citizens on student visas. The alleged scam was uncovered after customs officers opened five suspicious packages en route from Hong Kong, which appeared to contain counterfeit iPhones.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47867091
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MI man pleads guilty to attempting to smuggle goods into the U.S.
A Michigan man, with Mid-Michigan connections, has plead guilty to attempting to smuggle goods into the United States. According to court records, Curtis Wenzlaff, from Marquette, operated a domestic profit corporation, Sanno Industries, out of his home previously located in Flushing. Wenzlaff was acting as a drop shipper for companies outside the United States and was paid to assume the risk and consequences of the U.S. government identifying, seizing, and refusing entry of products illegally imported in to the United States, according to the records. Beginning in July 2014 and continuing until April 2016, Wenzlaff was involved with smuggling into the United States products commonly used to make drugs regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, officials charged.
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Quantum jump in gold seizure at airports
Spurt in seizure of cigarettes and foreign currency too. The State witnessed an unprecedented gold rush through all its international airports in the just-concluded financial year going by the statistics drawn up by the Customs Department. The number of cases for gold smuggling went up from 242 in 2017-18 to 1,102, an increase of 455%. The quantity of gold seized also made a quantum jump from 103.57 kg to 417.49 kg, registering a staggering increase of 404%.
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Andrejs Ozolins sold £52k of fake Disney products.
Andrejs Ozolins used Amazon and Ebay to sell clothes and accessories featuring Walt Disney characters. West Sussex trading standards officers found that he was also selling items which featured Nintendo characters, Hello Kitty, Spongebob Squarepants, and Angry Birds. He had £52,000 worth of counterfeit tat in his conservatory. Test purchases showed the 41-year-old was selling fake goods. He admitted ten charges at Worthing Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Trading standards team manager Richard Sargent said: “This is one of the largest seizures of counterfeit goods in West Sussex ever taken by West Sussex Trading Standards. The products were worth an estimated £52,000 and there was enough in his house to fill a van.
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/17538904.andrejs-ozolins-sold-52k-of-fake-disney-products/
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Illegal Liquor Seized Smuggling of Liquor was for distribution in Gujarat during Lok Sabha election campaign activity
An Eicher truck with number UP14 AF 9521 allegedly transporting illegal liquor for distribution in Gujarat during the ongoing Lok Sabha election campaign work was seized by the police team under supervision of Zawar Mines CI Bharat Yogi today. The liquor was being transported from Haryana. A team from Zawar Mines was acting on messages communicated by an informant after the Udaipur District SP Kailashchandra Bishnoi launched a campaing to block vehicles which would be identified as possible carriers of illegal liquor. 206 bottles worth over Rs 30 Lakhof illegal liquor consisting of Episode Classic Whiskey (121 cartons), Mc Dowells (55 cartons), Royal Challenge (30 cartons) were seized in this exercise which was a big achievement for the team. On receving information, the police team from Zawar Mines laid a road block near Oda village at Kevde ki Naal. An Eicher suspected to be carrying liquor was stopped the driver, Roshanlal Meghwal, resident of Udaipur was asked for papers and license.
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Counterfeit Goods Worth Sh1.5 Million Seized At A Madora Outlet.
The Anti Counterfeit Agency (ACA) on Friday seized fake goods valued at an estimated Sh1.5 million at a Karen mall. The fragrances and cosmetic products were found at a Madora Kenya store where 2 suspects were nabbed. Madora has branches at Westgate Mall, The Hub Karen and Newly Opened Two Rivers Mall. In January, a customer complained that he was sold a fake Sh40,000 perfume. The 100ML fragrance, he told a blog, was filled with water. He took up the matter with the store management only to be kicked out and his concerns left unaddressed. On Tuesday, the agency arrested five suspects and confiscated Ksh8 million worth of fake mobile phones during a raid along Luthuli Avenue. According to the authorities, other accessories including chargers, phone covers, batteries and earphones were also confiscated.
https://www.kahawatungu.com/2019/03/29/counterfeit-goods-seized-madora-store/
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Illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vodka found in Bolton raids.
Thousands of cigarettes were seized in raids on shops as part of a crackdown on Bolton’s illegal tobacco operations. Over two weeks, Trading Standards officers found 15,000 cigarettes and 1.5kg of rolling tobacco, as well as over 100 bottles of counterfeit vodka, prescription medication and even cannabis. The raids came on March 19, 25 and 27 and saw handlers with sniffer dogs enter into 19 businesses across the borough alongside police and representatives from the council’s Housing Standards and Licensing Enforcement teams. The shops cannot be named because they are now the subject of ongoing legal investigations which could see owners brought before the council’s licensing committee or the courts.
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Four containers found with counterfeit goods at Freeport Terminal.
Containers filled with counterfeit goods have been discovered by members of the Container Monitoring Unit at the Freeport Terminal. Officials say that four containers had been discovered this week containing a mixture of fake smuggled items. The first container were seized with 19 484 units of fake sportswear The second container, contained 24 912 of tubes of toothpaste, 23 184 bottles of roll-on deodorant and 35 784 bottles of perfume. The third container were confiscated container saw 94 668 units of fake shampo Fourth container contained 7476 fake footballs Legal representatives for the registered companies confirmed that the trademarks were copied and contravened intellectual property.
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RM79,325 counterfeit items seized by Ministry in Tenom.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) here seized counterfeit goods of various brands, including a van, amounting to RM79,325 during a raid in Tenom, recently. This was also believed to be the first case involving counterfeit goods supplied to retailers in the upper interior. Keningau Branch KPDNHEP Head, Gunasegaran Krishnan, said the seizure came following a three-week surveillance which led them to the van which was used to distribute various goods stamped with fake business trademarks. “The confiscated goods include shoes, flip-flops and garments of various brands such as Adidas, Nike, Puma and Levis,” he told a media conference, here.
The case will be probed under Section 8 of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011, which carries a fine of up to RM10,000 for each item or up to three years jail or both, if convicted.
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/133018/rm79-325-counterfeit-items-seized-by-ministry-in-tenom/
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Lorry driver tried to smuggle 7 million cigarettes through Dover.
A lorry driver has been jailed after he was caught smuggling more than seven million illegal cigarettes disguised as windows into the UK. Mariusz Piotr Gorny, 45, of Poland, tried to smuggle cigarettes worth £2,161,475 in unpaid duty through the Port of Dover, an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed. Gorny was stopped by Border Force officers as he arrived from Dunkirk Ferry Port, France, on 21 February this year. His paperwork said he was transporting windows to an address in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. But when officers searched the lorry trailer, they discovered the cigarettes packed in cardboard boxes labelled as windows. The cigarettes were concealed under boxes containing actual windows. Gorny was arrested and 7,020,000 Richmond cigarettes were seized. The case was passed to HMRC for investigation.
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