Customs, health officials suspected of shielding smugglers of tainted food: agency
The Agency Against Corruption yesterday revealed that Yang Jun-yuan an official of the Taipei Customs of Customs Administration and Chang En-shuo, an official of the Taoyuan City Department of Public Health have allegedly been covering up for merchants smuggling tainted food products from Japan and Thailand into Taiwan.
The AAC was tipped off yesterday that illegal food products have been released onto the market with support from government officials. The AAC then discovered that three companies have imported more than 6,000 kilograms of unlicensed agricultural products into the nation, with a total market value of NT$10 million. They said that most products may have already been consumed.
Lear MoreCounterfeit goods killing Ghanaian companies
The Ghana Employers Association (GEA) says counterfeit goods are destroying indigenous Ghanaian companies.A survey by the association has identified weak legal framework for the management and protection of intellectual property in Ghana as a major cause.
The study conducted by the GEA in 2014 further revealed that the pharmaceutical and textile industries faced the brunt with huge losses in jobs and revenue.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/artikel.php?ID=355963
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Anti-counterfeiting technology: news in brief
Chinese radiofrequency identification (RFID) specialist Invengo officially launched its XC-TF8033 security label outside for the first time at the RFID Journal Live event earlier this month. The tamper-resistant labels are already in use in China for the authentication of whisky, wine and tobacco products. They have been optimised for use on plastic wine bottle caps, paper documents, paper boxes and glass items and according to Invengo provide “excellent data read and write performance, maximum application flexibility and cost effectiveness.”
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Invisible inks identify fake products from your phone
Scientists in the US have developed sophisticated fluorescent inks which they believe could be used by consumers to spot a fake product just by taking a photo on their smartphone.
Researchers at Northwestern University have come up with inks, which can be printed using an inkjet printer, and are invisible under normal light. However, they can be seen under ultraviolet light and could be stamped as barcodes or QR codes “on anything from banknotes and bottles of whisky to luxury handbags and expensive cosmetics, providing proof of authenticity”.
Lear MoreCigarette tax hike unlikely
The illicit cigarette trade is evolving in Virginia as criminals obtain business licenses and open fronts for trafficking in order to move millions of dollars in untaxed cigarettes out of Virginia for illegal resale in the Northeast. Competition among illegal dealers is spawning a wide array of other crimes, ranging from credit card fraud to armed robberies to financing terrorism.
Now, the growing trafficking trade has fueled a political debate over how to address the problem without hurting the tobacco industry, which employs thousands in Virginia and has a statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion annually.
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Counterfeit tobacco sniffed out in Wolverhampton raids
Stashed away in secret compartments, hidden under trap doors, stored in deep freezers – just some of the lengths shopkeepers are going to to hide illegal cigarettes from the watchful eyes of the law. But the game was up for traders in Wolverhampton this week when raids by trading standards officers saw more than 40,000 dodgy smokes seized.
Officers and specialist sniffer dogs swooped on three stores in the Whitmore Reans and Blakenhall areas of the city, coming away with a monster haul of fake and non-duty paid cigarettes and alcohol worth £320,000. The loss of revenue on the items was £259,000.
Lear MoreCigarette-smuggling ring arrested in northern Greece
Police in Kilkis, northern Greece, said on Saturday that they had smashed a criminal racket alleged to have smuggled thousands of packets of contraband cigarettes into Greece. Police said they arrested four Greek nationals, aged 24, 36, 37 and 48, on a rural road near the country’s border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) late on Thursday.
The 37-year-old was allegedly driving a lookout car, keeping an eye out for police, which was followed by a second vehicle – in which the two younger men were traveling – that was carrying 6,509 packets of illegal cigarettes. Police confiscated the cargo as well as a thermal camera.
Police said the goods were delivered to the 48-year-old, who then made them available across Greece.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/04/2015_549447
Lear MoreFarmers learn how to distinguish genuine fertilisers from fakes
A programme to help farmers distinguish genuine products from fake, copycat and substandard ones is rolling out across the country. Fertiliser makers interviewed by danviet.vn contributed their ideas on how to make it work.
The Programme for Coordinated Monitoring of Law Compliance in Production and Trade of Agricultural Material Inputs 2014 – 2020, was instituted in order to supervise the use of fertilisers, plant protection chemicals, veterinary medicines, feed, plant seeds and seedlings.
Initiated on July 17, 2014 (thus referred to as Programme 17) jointly by the Viet Nam Farmers’ Union, Viet Nam Fatherland Front, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade, has seen 35 provinces sign up for the programme so far.
Lear MoreCounterfeit items worth Dh4m seized
Dubai Customs reveals figures on World Intellectual Property Day. Dubai Customs made 40 seizures of counterfeit products worth Dh4 million in the first quarter of this year.
The announcement came during a Dubai Customs event to mark World Intellectual Property Day (April 26) on Sunday.In 2014, more than 300 seizures worth over Dh36 million were made. In the same year, the UAE recorded the lowest software piracy rate in the GCC and Middle East and North Africa regions, Dubai Customs said.
“Dubai Customs exhibits a robust development in officers’ capacity to detect counterfeit products. This has led to a significant surge in the number of seizures involving IP [Intellectual Property] infringing goods,” it said in a statement.
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Smuggled cigarettes seized in Baalbek bust
Authorities Friday seized three carloads of smuggled cigarettes from a depot in the eastern city of Baalbek. The joint operation, which took place shortly before midday, was carried out by customs officers and members of State Security.
The cartons of confiscated cigarettes, which included several foreign brands including Pall Mall and Marlboro, were loaded into three vehicles by the security forces.
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