CBP seizes 20,000 fake Jamsonic smart watches
Customs officers at International Falls Port of Entry in the US seized almost 20,000 counterfeit smart watches bearing the Jamsonic brand.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) found the shipment – worth almost $600,000 if genuine – on a train entering the US from Canada that was destined to arrive in Ranier, Minnesota.
The rail container contained smart watches” in violation of intellectual property rights (IPR) regulations,” says the agency.
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Counterfeit Botox seized in Cincinnati
Customs officers at a Cincinnati express consignment facility have seized multiple shipments of counterfeit Botox injections, a wrinkle treatment sold by drug maker Allergan.
The shipments, manifested as “leggings” and “facial gift,” were coming from Shenzhen, China, and were destined to private residences in Alabama, Texas, and Utah, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) – a form of botulinum toxin – is restricted by the FDA and cannot be imported into the US without proper documentation. The FDA has issued an import alert detailing which pharmaceutical companies produce legitimate botulinum toxin products and how these products can legally be imported into the US.
At least some of the imported product is in Turkish packaging (pictured), reminiscent of a notorious incident a few years back when counterfeit vials of Roche’s cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) – bearing the Turkish trade name Altuzan as well as Turkish packaging and with no active ingredient – were found in the US market.
Lear MoreThree Men Charged In Largest Tobacco Bust In Maryland History, Comptroller Says
ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Nearly half a million dollars of untaxed tobacco products have been seized by the state, in what Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot is calling the largest tobacco bust in the agency’s history.
During early-morning raids on November 5 at multiple spots in Prince George’s County and Baltimore City, agents from the Field Enforcement Division found a large-scale operation to import and distribute untaxed tobacco products and cigarettes in Maryland.
“The work of the agency’s Field Enforcement Division is second to none, and this latest operation to bring down a criminal enterprise demonstrates solid police work and multi-jurisdictional coordination,” said Comptroller Franchot. “As a result, these lawbreakers will be held accountable and Marylanders will not see lost tax revenue going out the door.”
As a result of the year-long investigation, agents seized thousands of cartons of untaxed tobacco products at a storage facility and at six retail locations.
he combined retail sales value of the seized contraband tallies up to $452,850.92- a total tax loss of $286,325.42 to the state.
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Clark customs destroys smuggled cigarette machines
CLARK FREEPORT — The Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark destroyed several units of smuggled cigarette manufacturing machines, counterfeit cigarette master cases and other packaging materials.
At least seven units of cigarette-making machines, one plastic recycling machine, one manual lifter, one generator set, and one generator cooling system that were seized on February 19, 2019 and forfeited on July 26, 2019 were destroyed on Monday, November 18. The forfeited items violated provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
On Tuesday, November 19, two sets of cigarette manufacturing machine, one set of semi-automatic strapping machine, plastic shredding facility, 145 cigarette master cases, packaging materials and tax stamps were also destroyed. These items were seized on March 5, 2018 and forfeited on August 6, 2019 for violation of the CMTA, Intellectual Property Rights Law, National Tobacco Administration Circular No. 3-2014, BOC Memorandum Circular No. 15-2015 and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Regulation No. 1-97.
The destruction of the smuggled items is part of BOC-Port of Clark’s efforts to prevent illicit trade and customs fraud.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1832692
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Man held at Delhi airport for bid to smuggle gold by hiding it in rectum
NEW DELHI: A man was arrested by the customs officials at the international airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle gold into the country by hiding it in his rectum, an official statement said on Monday.
The accused was intercepted after his arrival from Bangkok on Saturday.
On a personal search of the passenger, four pieces of gold were recovered, two concealed in the pockets of his trouser and the rest in his rectum, the statement issued by the customs department said.
The gold, weighing 870 grams in total and valued at Rs 29.56 lakh, was seized and the accused arrested, it added.
On further investigation, another passenger, who too had arrived here in the same plane as that of the accused, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the case.
In another case, a man was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle gold into the country by hiding it inside a juicer and bluetooth speakers.
The passenger was intercepted after his arrival from Dubai at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here on Thursday.
A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of two gold pieces, weighing 462 grams in total, the customs department said.
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Lorry drivers jailed for smuggling eight million counterfeit cigarettes through Port of Dover
Two lorry drivers have been jailed for four and a half years for trying to smuggle more than eight million counterfeit cigarettes in boxes labelled as nappies through the Port of Dover.
An investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed Aleksander Kazakin, 43, and Pawel Gromek, 50, both of Poland, conspired to bring illegal tobacco goods worth £2,314,441 in unpaid duty into the UK.
Kazakin was stopped by Border Force officers as he entered the UK on 14 May 2019. A search of his lorry trailer revealed 8.2 million cigarettes packed in nappy branded boxes. He was arrested and the cigarettes were seized.
Gromek entered the UK later that day with a cargo of nappies. He was not transporting any illegal cigarettes but Border Force officers found he was carrying documents linking him to the seizure. The documents were identical to those used by Kazakin and corresponded to labels on the boxes containing the counterfeit goods. He was arrested and the case was passed to HMRC for further investigation.
Kazakin and Gromek were both convicted of excise fraud at Maidstone Crown Court on 13 November 2019 and were each sentenced to four years and six months in prison.
Lear More14 Indicted in $6 Million Counterfeit iPhones Scheme in US
New York: The FBI has busted and charged 14 alleged members of an international criminal gang in the US with fraud, conspiracy, identity theft and money laundering charges related to their counterfeit iPhone and iPad scheme that reportedly cost Apple over USD 6.1 million.
According to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed on Wednesday in San Diego, California, the gang was led by three brothers and they imported more than 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China.
They then exchanged them for the real thing at Apple stores throughout the US and Canada, and then shipped the authentic devices back to China and other foreign countries to sell at a premium, according to the release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California.
Genuine Apple (AAPL) iPhones and iPads have International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and serial numbers that are unique to each device. As part of the scheme, the counterfeit devices were equipped with IMEI and serial numbers that matched those of real devices covered by an Apple warranty in the US or Canada, according to the release.
“The manufacture of counterfeit goods — and their use to defraud US companies — seeks to fundamentally undermine the marketplace and harms innocent people whose identities were stolen in furtherance of these activities,” US Attorney Robert Brewer said.
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Jewelry Distributor Arrested With $15M in Counterfeit Goods, Police Say
The owner of a business in the downtown Los Angeles jewelry district has been arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit jewelry.
Moossa Lari is accused of felony trademark violation, according to a press release from the LA Police Department.
Investigators conducted several undercover buys and surveillance operations and determined that he was “a major distributor of counterfeit jewelry nationwide,” the release states.
Search warrants were served at multiple locations in the jewelry district on Nov. 7 by LAPD in collaboration with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and Custom Border Protection.
Officers seized about $58,000 in cash and over $15 million counterfeit jewelry with Street value of over $1 million, according to the release. Counterfeit jewelry recovered included fake Hermes, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Michael Kors, Cartier, Tiffany Co., YSL, Dior, Calvin Klein, Guess, Van Cleef and Bvlgari pieces.
https://instoremag.com/jewelry-distributor-arrested-with-15m-in-counterfeit-goods-police-say/
Lear MoreNike says bye to selling on Amazon
Big brands have quit Amazon’s platform due to sales of counterfeit products and unauthorised sellers which undermines the value of the original brands.
Oregon: Nike has decided to stop selling on Amazon, ending a pilot program that started in 2017. The athletic brand said that it will no longer sell its sneakers and apparel on the e-commerce website, as it prepares to offer a more direct customer experience, Bloomberg notes.
Big brands have quit Amazon’s platform due to sales of counterfeit products and unauthorised sellers which undermines the value of the original brands. However, Nike said it will continue to use Amazon Web Services to power its apps and web services.
Lear MoreSmuggled imported cigarettes worth Rs 1 crore on board train seized in Bengaluru.
BENGALURU: Acting on a tip-off, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) seized imported cigarettes valued at around Rs 1 crore from the parcel van of Karnataka Express at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station, on Tuesday evening. The consignment was booked on a train from New Delhi. This is the second major seizure of imported cigarettes smuggled into Bengaluru via trains.
Senior Divisional Security Commissioner of RPF, Bengaluru, Debashmita Chattopadhyay Banerjee told The New Indian Express that 7,180 boxes, each containing 50 cigarette packets, were seized from the Vehicle Parcel Unit of Karnataka Express when it reached the platform at 6.30 pm. “They appear to have been imported from the West Asia or Bangladesh. There was no one accompanying the parcel on the train. It has been booked from New Delhi railway station. We are investigating into it,” she said.
The RPF immediately alerted both Customs as well as Sales Tax officials about the seizure. “This is the second such seizure of cigarettes inside trains in the last four months,” Debashmita added. The cigarettes, packed in cartons and covered with white gunny bags, were concealed among other items to escape detection, said Assistant Security Commissioner, Yeshwantpur, Rajagopala Reddy, who was involved in the operations with a 10-member RPF team.
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