Chop Chop – Illegal tobacco issue worsening
The importation and sale of illegally imported tobacco is a worsening problem in NSW and the big tobacco companies are threatening to do something about.
Alarmed at what they see as government inaction, big tobacco have spoken about plans to launch a range of super cheap, legal cigarettes which could be sold for as little as $9 a pack.
Illegal tobacco – often referred to as chop chop – can be purchased ‘under the counter’ from dodgy retailers around the city for a fraction of the price of legally imported tobacco. Illegal sales have been detected 28 times around Sydney.
Cross-border cigarette smuggling ring on trial in China
Nine Chinese nationals stood trial in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on charges of smuggling, tax evasion and illegal trading. The suspects allegedly smuggled nearly 30 million packets of cigarettes, with an estimated tax evasion of around 415 million yuan (about 67 million U.S. dollars), according to the Intermediate People’s Court of Fangchenggang City.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-05/11/c_134229256.htm
Lear More
Luxury goods maker Kering sues Alibaba over counterfeit products
Luxury product maker Kering, which includes brands such as Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has again filed suit against Alibaba for aiding the sales of counterfeit versions of its products. The Paris-based firm withdrew a similar complaint in August 2014 after the Chinese tech giant agreed to work.
But that effort hasn’t been successful enough for Kering. “This lawsuit is part of Kering’s ongoing global effort to maintain its customers’ trust in its genuine products and to continue to develop the creative works and talents in its brands,” the company said in a statement.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/05/17/kering-sues-alibaba-over-counterfeit-goods/27493425/
Lear More
Alibaba Reveals a New Kind of QR Code to Fight Counterfeits
CHINESE E-COMMERCE GIANT Alibaba has a fake goods problem. The company knows it, and the Chinese government has made abundantly clear it knows, too. Now, to combat counterfeits, the company has come up with a solution: Slap unique QR code-like tags on every product.
Today, in conjunction with the Israeli startupVisualead, Alibaba debuted what it’s calling dotless visual codes. The codes resemble traditional QR codes with patterns of dots in all four corners. Unlike QR codes, Alibaba’s version can include images in the middle of the code, which can help with more visual branding efforts, says Nevo Alva, cofounder and CEO of Visualead.
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/alibaba-reveals-retro-way-fight-counterfeits-qr-codes/
Lear More
Help Us Fight Fakes, Alibaba’s Security Chief Tells Global Brands
When it comes to fighting fakes, Alibaba’s head of internet security says cooperation beats the courtroom any day. Ni Liang, who runs the Hangzhou, China-based company’s anti-counterfeiting operations, was speaking to Reuters days after Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other luxury brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA sued Alibaba in New York, alleging the e-commerce giant had knowingly made it possible for counterfeiters to sell fakes.
Ni said brands had a better chance of succeeding in clamping down on the pervasive counterfeit trade if they talked to Alibaba, instead of suing it.
http://recode.net/2015/05/18/help-us-fight-fakes-alibabas-security-chief-tells-global-brands/
Lear More
Counterfeit make-up is risking lives, say police
Human urine, cyanide and rats’ droppings are just a handful of poisonous ingredients found in fake beauty products hitting the U.K., according to findings announced by the City of London Police. It is estimated by the police that consumers in the U.K. spend at least £90 million ($141 million) each year on fake cosmetics, and this total is expected to rise dramatically as consumers shift more towards online shopping.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102687332
Lear More
You’ll never guess what’s in these fake cosmetics!
Human urine, cyanide and rats’ droppings are just a handful of poisonous ingredients found in fake beauty products hitting the U.K., according to findings announced by the City of London Police.
It is estimated by the police that consumers in the U.K. spend at least £90 million ($141 million) each year on fake cosmetics, and this total is expected to rise dramatically as consumers shift more towards online shopping.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102687332
Lear MoreCigarettes smuggled from Georgia, Northern Iraq, Bulgaria
Smuggled cigarettes arrive in Turkey from Georgia, northern Iraq and Bulgaria, while there are large sums of money being transferred from the eastern parts of Turkey to Istanbul in line with smuggling activities, according to recent data from Turkey’s financial crime investigation board (MASAK), daily Milliyet has reported.
Additionally, close ties were detected between some of the smugglers and extensions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Europe, according to the report.
Former police boss arrested with 1,800 illegal packets of cigarettes in La Linea
A FORMER police boss has been arrested for smuggling 1,800 illegal packets of cigarettes into Spain.
The ex-chief of La Linea local police was picked up with the contraband, which had a street value of €7,931, stuffed inside suitcases in the boot of his car. Malaga police had been monitoring the retired officer’s vehicle and made the bust after he picked up the load from a garage in La Linea.
Anti-graft panel zooms in on Sabah
From clamping down on illegal logging in Sarawak, the country’s graftbusters have moved on to Sabah, where they froze 1,623 accounts worth half a billion ringgit in a crackdown against the smuggling of subsidised diesel, cigarettes and liquor. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said besides the frozen accounts worth RM560mil, it seized over RM1mil in cash and jewellery in the operation codenamed “BS”. Its investigation director Datuk Mohamad Jamidin Abdullah said raids were carried out at 43 locations in Tawau, Sandakan, Keningau, Kota Kinabalu, Labuan and Semporna at the same time.
Lear More