Two Sri Lankan women caught smuggling gold worth over Rs 30 lakh at Pune airport.
Customs officials on Thursday caught two Sri Lankan women, for allegedly smuggling gold worth around Rs 30 lakh, at the Pune airport. According to police, the duo arrived from Singapore by Jet Airways and walked through the Green channel without declaring anything to the Customs. After noticing suspicious movement, Customs officials interrogated them and it was found that they were carrying 24-carat gold in the form of chain, bangles and biscuits, weighing 914.25 gm. The jewellery worth around Rs 30,31,937 has been seized on the suspicion of being smuggled, an official statement read.
Lear More
EPA, Customs Seize More than 10,000 Illegal Items at SoCal Ports.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday enforcement actions involving $530,199 in fines and over 10,000 engines and vehicles imported into the United States. These actions are the result of on-going joint operations between EPA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to identify foreign-made engines and vehicles that lack proper emission controls, including ATVs, motorcycles, and construction equipment. “Oversight of foreign-made engines imported through southern California ports is a priority,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “The enforcement cases announced (Tuesday) prevented hundreds of thousands of pounds of harmful air pollutants from being emitted into our air. We will continue to look work with CBP to ensure that items coming into the U.S. meet federal emissions requirements.” Under the joint initiative, EPA found companies imported engines and vehicles without certification or proper emissions controls. Engines operating without adequate controls emit excess carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory illnesses, aggravate asthma, and lead to the formation of ground level ozone. Particular cases involved the following companies:
https://scvnews.com/2019/03/14/epa-customs-seize-more-than-10000-illegal-items-at-socal-ports/
Lear MoreInteractive Session on Strategies to Curb Smuggling and Counterfeiting, Goa
13/03/2019| Goa
Smuggling and counterfeiting which are termed as illicit trade is today the biggest challenge facing our country. It is also the world’s largest growing economic menace. Owing to its rather complex nature, its size is hard to determine. However, various estimates suggest that over the last ten years, the magnitude of illicit trade has grown from USD 650 billion to about USD 3 trillion, and this criminal activity represents 10 per cent of the global trade, being rightly termed by the FBI as the ‘crime of the 21st century’. It is evident that the hazards of illicit trade are serious which needs to be dealt with sincere commitment leading to result-oriented effective steps addressing this challenge. In order to brain storm on strategies needed to address the problem, FICCI CASCADE organized an Interactive Session on Strategies to Curb Smuggling and Counterfeiting on 13th March 2019 in Goa. This interaction between FICCI CASCADE Think Tank members and representatives from the Government of Goa was organized with the intent to facilitate a wider exchange and ensure a multifaceted perspective to not only understand the risks caused by illicit trade activities but also search for remedial measures to contain this concern.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE, in his opening remarks, stated that with the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991, branded goods made their way into India and there was a clear element of glamour attached to them, which led to a spike in aspirations, especially for the middle-class population. While many products are being introduced through the legal channel, a significantly large number are today serviced through the smuggled and counterfeit route. Participants in this illicit trade not only deprive the government of its rightful revenue but also create an army of anti-social elements who are a threat to each and every society in the world. The criminal networks behind this operate across national borders in activities that include the manufacture, export, import and distribution of smuggled products. Mr. Rajput also highlighted the fact that smuggled goods result in export of jobs and have a detrimental impact on the employment opportunities of the local habitant and hence, this issue needs to be stressed upon and highlighted adequately.
Mr. P. C. Jha, FICCI CASCADE and Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in his address stressed upon the issue of inadequate penal provisions and delayed prosecution/adjudication proceedings which failed to create the desired deterrence with regards to this crime. Moreover, it is also seen that industry do not fully cooperate during investigations and prosecution. More proactive and dedicated actions are needed to be taken by the affected industry, he emphasized.
The discussants from the Government included Mr. Pranab Nanda, Director General of Police, Goa, Mr. K Anpazhakan, Commissioner, GST, Goa, Mr. Satish Pattapu, Joint Director, DRI, Mumbai Zonal Unit and Mr. Nilotpal Mrinal, Commandant, Central Industrial Security Force. The members from FICCI CASCADE Think Tank included Mr. Hem Kumar Pande, Former Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Anil Sinha, Former Director CBI, Mr. Sanjeev Tripathi, Former Chief of RAW, Mr Najib Shah, Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Mr. Vikram Srivastava, Former DG, CRPF, Ms Kameswari Subramanian, International Expert Customs Law Procedures and Trade Facilitation and Mr Narendra Sabharwal, Former DDG, WIPO, & Chairman FICCI IPR Committee.
The interactions identified that the action required to address this menace had many elements, starting with greater vigil at the borders. With illicit trade being a worldwide phenomenon, bilateral and multilateral engagements between nations would ensure greater difficulty, if not immobility, of smuggled & counterfeit products from one nation to another. The second stage was strengthening the enforcement agencies and working towards designing better legal system to address this challenge. Punitive action coupled with the right policy framework that dis-incentivizes this entire activity would deter such illegitimate operators from making repeated attempts. Finally, the focus should be on consumers who need to be made aware of the detrimental impact of such spurious goods. Consumer awareness campaigns that explain how to differentiate a fake product from a genuine one, to demanding a copy of the bill from the seller, along with the harmful consequences of buying illegal products vis-a-vis the genuine, needs to explicitly be conveyed.
Seminar reportDownload Pdf
Bengaluru: Gold worth Rs 37 lakh smuggled in door locks, underware.
BENGALURU: Gold smugglers often adopt innovative ways to deceive customs sleuths at Kempegowda International Airport. On Tuesday, two attempts to smuggle in 1.1kg of gold worth over lakh — one where the yellow metal was crafted as components of door locks and the other where it was carried in paste form inside a passenger’s underwear — were foiled at KIA.
Sources with the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Bangalore customs said their team carried out profiling of passengers who disembarked from Gulf Air flight GF 282 (Bahrain to Bengaluru) that landed at KIA at 3.55am.
Following suspicion, customs officials intercepted a male passenger who was later identified as a 50-year-old from Uttar Pradesh. He had travelled from Saudi Arabia. After questioning him, the team inspected his check-in luggage to find door locks. On dismantling them, they found six gold biscuits worth Rs 18. 7 lakh. The suspect carried the gold inside the locks, assuming customs officials would clear them as hardware items as some components were painted in golden colour.
Lear MoreBengaluru: Gold worth Rs 37 lakh smuggled in door locks, underware.
BENGALURU: Gold smugglers often adopt innovative ways to deceive customs sleuths at Kempegowda International Airport. On Tuesday, two attempts to smuggle in 1.1kg of gold worth over lakh — one where the yellow metal was crafted as components of door locks and the other where it was carried in paste form inside a passenger’s underwear — were foiled at KIA. Sources with the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Bangalore customs said their team carried out profiling of passengers who disembarked from Gulf Air flight GF 282 (Bahrain to Bengaluru) that landed at KIA at 3.55am. Following suspicion, customs officials intercepted a male passenger who was later identified as a 50-year-old from Uttar Pradesh. He had travelled from Saudi Arabia. After questioning him, the team inspected his check-in luggage to find door locks. On dismantling them, they found six gold biscuits worth Rs 18. 7 lakh. The suspect carried the gold inside the locks, assuming customs officials would clear them as hardware items as some components were painted in golden colour.
Lear MoreStakeholder Consultation: Developing Strategic Actions Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting- A Dialogue with Delhi Police, New Delhi
28/02/2019| New Delhi
With a view to identify opportunities for joint action between enforcement agencies and industry to combat illicit trade, FICCI CASCADE organized a Stakeholder Consultation with Delhi Police on 28th February 2019 in FICCI. The principal purpose of the interaction was to share with Delhi Police some key issues and challenges faced by industry which could help in understanding the real problems faced on ground, and to keep these aspects in mind while taking action against counterfeiters and smugglers.
Mr. Suvashis Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi Police was the chief guest at this consultation. In his address, he stated that the problem of counterfeiting and smuggling was growing rapidly. Talking about the scale of the problem, Mr. Chaudhary mentioned that EOW had registered 326 cases in last 9 years. Unfortunately, the EOW is insufficiently resourced to handle the large volumes of such cases. Moreover, in most cases the cases are not taken to its logical end. Unless the criminal is convicted and/or required deterrence is made, this problem will keep growing. He also called for interstate coordination between enforcement agencies, an important area that needed growing attention to curb smuggling activities.
The consultation was also addressed by Mr. Harmohan Chauhan, Assistant Commissioner of Police, District Investigation Unit, Delhi Police, who mentioned that Delhi Police in their endeavor to create mass awareness on the ill effects arising out of counterfeiting and smuggling had been undertaking several activities to sensitize the public on this issue and urged industry to come forward and collaborate with the Police in this endeavor.
Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi in his welcome remarks stated that an estimated 8 to 15% of global GDP was impacted due to illicit trade and related criminal activities. With a growing economy, India also faces the challenge of countering illicit trade in smuggled & counterfeit goods. Mr. Chand highlighted the following key concerns of the enforcement machinery in India and proposed prioritizing this issue by the Police.
- The scale of illicit markets is huge, while criminal networks and illicit markets continue to thrive
- Limited resources and overstretched capacity
- Lack of knowledge/training of Intellectual Property Rights
- Counterfeiting and smuggling is not a priority for enforcers and regulators
- Lack of effective exchange of information, assistance & inter-departmental collaboration
India: towards greater accountability of intermediaries?
Indian authorities are considering amending the Information Technology Act 2000. Article 79 deals with the exemption of intermediaries from liability, imposing on them an obligation of diligence as to the lawfulness of the contents. In the course of 2018, the government informed the elected officials of its determination to modify the legal framework in the sense of greater accountability of intermediaries.
These rules, called Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules, 2018, would require intermediaries with more than 5 million users in India to have a registered subsidiary in India. It goes without saying that this provision is intended to facilitate the liability of the intermediary.
The bill also aims to require intermediaries to prohibit their users from publishing content or promoting products that are hazardous to health, specifically targeting tobacco, alcohol, and cosmetics. Furthermore, the platforms themselves would have the obligation to deploy automated tools to proactively identify and delete or disable illegal content.
Finally, among the new provisions envisaged, it is also necessary to note the requirement, formulated by the Indian Government, of greater cooperation in the suppression of the illicit contents and the identification of the authors of such contents.
https://www.iptwins.com/en/2019/02/27/india-towards-greater-accountability-of-intermediaries/
Lear More
Three men arrested, smuggled cigarettes, tobacco worth RM1.8m seized.
Police arrested three men and seized smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, worth RM1.8 million, in an operation at Seri Kembangan here last Thursday.
Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, in a statement today, said the suspects were aged between 38 and 50.
The seized items comprised 190 boxes of cigarettes with the brand name, League, and 40 boxes of raw tobacco, each weighing 22kg, on which tax had not been paid, he said.
He said the police also seized two lorries and a Toyota Hilux during the operation.
Acryl Sani said the contraband was believed to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country by land for markets in the Klang Valley and southern part of the peninsula. — Bernama
Lear More
Three men arrested, smuggled cigarettes, tobacco worth RM1.8m seized.
Police arrested three men and seized smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, worth RM1.8 million, in an operation at Seri Kembangan here last Thursday. Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, in a statement today, said the suspects were aged between 38 and 50. The seized items comprised 190 boxes of cigarettes with the brand name, League, and 40 boxes of raw tobacco, each weighing 22kg, on which tax had not been paid, he said. He said the police also seized two lorries and a Toyota Hilux during the operation. Acryl Sani said the contraband was believed to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country by land for markets in the Klang Valley and southern part of the peninsula. — Bernama
Lear MoreCapacity Building Programme for Police Officers on Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling, Lucknow
23rd February 2019 | Lucknow
On 23 February 2019, FICCI CASCADE organized a capacity building program on the Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling, specifically for the U.P. police officers at the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Headquarters, UP Police. The objective was to help the participating police officials understand the relevant laws and procedures in tackling counterfeiters and smugglers. Mr. Deep Chand, while discussing the subject, said that “According to a recent study, the total value of counterfeited and pirated goods, which in the year 2013 was USD 923 billion, has been forecasted to touch USD 2.81 trillion by 2022”. He also pointed out that the illegal money which was being diverted to organized crimes including human trafficking, smuggling and terrorism, was generated through illicit trade. The training programme was attended by over 50 U.P. police officers and provided a useful platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences in the enforcement of laws and practices while dealing with counterfeited and smuggled products.
