Four-fold rise in cigarette smuggling into India: WHO
Cigarette smuggling into the country increased four-fold (by value) between 2012 and 2014, seizure data from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) shows. The data has been cited in a latest draft working paper prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to contend that illicit trade in tobacco products undermines tobacco control policies and leads to significant revenue loss. WHO has pegged the import duty evasion from smuggling cigarettes into the country at Rs 2,363 crore for 2014-15.
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4 major smuggling hotspots in state
MIRI: The Customs Department has identified Kuching, Miri, Sibu and Bintulu as smuggling hotspots in the state.
Customs deputy director-general Datuk MatrangSuhaili said there is high demand for contraband alcoholic drinks and illicit cigarettes believed to be from countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
He said the department has intensified its operations and surveillance at the hotspots.
“Customs has initiated collaboration with its counterparts the police, Immigration, local councils and other enforcement agencies in Sarawak to undertake effective monitoring and enforcement via information exchange and operations,” he told the media after launching Ops Pacak here yesterday.
http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/05/29/4-major-smuggling-hotspots-in-state/
Lear MoreDangerous fake vodka seized in Liverpool
Giant containers of suspected fake vodka were seized from a house. A 19-year-old arrested over the matter said the 50 litre rjugs were full of “home-made vodka” but council officers fear it was dangerous liquid intended for sale. A dozen containers filled with the suspected counterfeit vodka were found in the first floor bedroom of a terraced house by officers from Liverpool council’s alcohol and tobacco unit. They were called to the house by Merseyside Police officers. Early indications from sampling of the liquid indicates the presence of Ethyl Alcohol, Dimethyl Ether and Trichloro Methane, a highly flammable mixture which should not be stored in a domestic property. The containers have been taken to a secure location and will then be analysed to determine the exact nature of the liquid.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/dangerous-fake-vodka-seized-liverpool-9358142
Lear MoreSale of ‘illegal cigarettes’ surging in India: Report
The high and discriminatory central and state taxes on cigarettes have negatively impacted their sales but have also resulted in India emerging as the fifth largest “illegal cigarette” market in the world. According to a report, the Tobacco Institute of India observed that the escalating excise duty burden on “legal cigarettes” has almost doubled in the last four years in addition to the high rates of value added tax (VAT) and other state level taxes. According to Euromonitor International, a renowned global research organization, India is now the fifth largest illegal cigarette market in the world which translates to a revenue loss of more than Rs.7,000 crore to the national exchequer. Illegal cigarettes are internationally smuggled and domestically manufactured tax evaded cigarettes.
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Anti-counterfeit tracers to protect cigarettes and alcohol in China
ANTI-counterfeiting group YPB says it has started to supply invisible tracer, ink master batch and scanners to its customers in China. The company says the contracts are worth up to $26 million. The technology will be instrumental in protecting hundreds of millions of items in China from counterfeiting. As a result of these contracts, YPB has significantly ramped up its tracer production capacity to meet the requirements. Major clients for YPB include Shenzhen Shensaier, which will use the YPB tracer and scanner technology to protect its tobacco products, and Hicap Closures, which supplies bottle closures. The YPB tracer technology will be applied to protect up to 2 billion bottle closures, cigarette packs and alcohol bottles, through the ink on the labels.
Lear MoreNigeria: Drug Counterfeiting Has Reduced Drastically – NAFDAC
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, has stated that since he came on board as the head of the agency, drug and product counterfeiting in the country has reduced markedly. This was part of the statements contained in his new book titled: The Odyssey of a Survivor, launched recently in Lagos. According to the book, a research was done to determine whether the agency was winning the war against fake drugs in the country and it came out to prove that counterfeit drugs were not as common as they used to be several years ago.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201505281489.html
Lear MoreCounterfeit goods: How to tell the real from the rip-off
As the world has grown smaller, more and more foreign-made goods are hitting our shores. Among them, a flood of fakes, fueled in part by the Internet and the ease with which we can buy products directly. Last year, U.S. law enforcement agencies—including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations—shut down 29,684 websites that were illegally selling counterfeit goods online. Buying counterfeit goods—whether online or in person—comes with a big risk. Not only do fakes cost U.S. businesses as much as $250 billion in lost trade annually, but many are also downright dangerous.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/05/28/counterfeit-goods-how-to-tell-real-from-rip-off/
Lear MoreAnti-counterfeit Food Packaging Market is Expected to Reach $62.5 Billion, Globally, by 2020 – Allied Market Research
A new report by Allied Market Research, titled, “Global Anti-counterfeit Food & Beverage Packaging Market- Industry Analysis, Size, Growth, Trends, Opportunities, and Forecast, 2014-2020“, forecasts the market to grow at a CAGR of 16.1% during 2015 – 2020. Holograms segment would enjoy the leading position in overall authentication technology market, through to 2020. RFID technology exhibits fastest growth at 20.4% CAGR during the forecast period. Every year millions of people are deceived into buying counterfeited food and beverages, posing significant health and safety risks, leading the demand of anti-counterfeit packaging (ACP).
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Salford couple smuggled 25 tonnes of illegal tobacco worth almost £4m into the UK
A Salford couple have been jailed after smuggling 25 tonnes of fake tobacco in a fraud costing the taxpayer almost £4m. Feng Gao and his partner Mingshu Yang shipped boxloads of illicit hand rolling tobacco into the country. The criminal duo, of St Heliers Drive, Salford, concealed the illegal tobacco in false soles and shelves as they shipped shoes and furniture to the North West. After years of surveillance on the couple, Gao, 39, was finally arrested in May 2013 when customs officers found thousands of fake tobacco packages at an address in Liverpool.
Lear MoreEnd European agreements with tobacco industry designed to curb smuggling, urge experts
The agreements drawn up between the European Union (EU) and the four major transnational tobacco companies, to crack down on cigarette smuggling and recoup lost tax revenues, are failing to meet their stated aims, concludes research published online in the journal Tobacco Control. They are littered with loopholes, which the tobacco companies can easily exploit, and should be abandoned, say the researchers, ahead of World Tobacco Day at the end of this month.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-european-agreements-tobacco-industry-curb.html
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