Fake mobile phones are a $6bn market, says MMF
The counterfeit mobile phone market is hard to quantify but could be as much as $6bn a year, according to a new report from the Mobile Manufacturers Forum. The MMF – an international association of telecommunications equipment manufacturers – estimates that around 148 million counterfeit or substandard mobile devices were sold through ‘visible retail sites’ last year, with many more changing hands via the Internet and local black markets. The white paper suggest that governments “do not yet fully understand the scope and nature of the problem” and sets out to describe the impact of the illicit trade on consumers, governments themselves and private industry.
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Boss dubbed ‘Loadsamoney’ faces going bust after his family were ordered to pay back £400,000 from their counterfeit clothing racket
The jailed drug-dealing boss of a clothing racket faces ruin after he and his family were ordered to pay back more than £400,000 of the profits of their criminal enterprises. Mohammed Basit Chaudhry, 26, was convicted last year of running a counterfeit clothing racket and trafficking cannabis after raids on his family home in Chorlton, Manchester. He had boasted of his ill-gotten gains by posing for a picture waving a thick wad of £10 notes, prompting comparisons with the ‘Loadsamoney’ character played by Harry Enfield in the Eighties.
Lear MoreNew EU law clamps down on fake goods
A change in European law means that customs now have the right to seize and destroy fake goods bought from outside Europe. The BBC’s Dominic Laurie spoke with is Steve Kuncewicz, an intellectual property lawyer, to discuss the implications of this change in the law for customers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26080135
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Jolly, tobacco front smokes public again
It is an open secret that tobacco firms deliberately aid cigarette smuggling, for instance, by manufacturing excess cigarettes to flood the illicit market, primarily to keep their products at affordable pricing on the black market. That did not stop tobacco-funded campaigner, Richard Jolly, from trying to smoke the public regarding the illicit tobacco situation; in fact, he even accuses the Hong Kong police and customs of supposed inaction.
http://tobacco.cleartheair.org.hk/?p=8015
Lear MoreLee Cooper: Production is ‘counterfeit or unauthorised’
LeeCooper declined to be interviewed by Exposure and company executives rejected an offer to view the footage gathered during the investigation. In a brief statement they said: “We employ a strict set of rules to ensure our licensees source responsibly and can confirm that this production is either counterfeit or unauthorised. “We will take all steps to eliminate the unlawful production of Lee Cooper branded products.
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-02-06/lee-cooper-production-is-counterfeit-or-unauthorised/
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India’s carmakers launch campaign against fake parts
Counterfeit automotive components are a major scourge around the world, and India’s carmakers are mounting a public awareness campaign to highlight the problem. SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) formed an Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) to run multiple online campaigns highlighting the risks associated with what it describes as a ‘tide’ of counterfeit spare parts flooding the Indian market. The trade body has set up a microsite to “create awareness and educate customers about the disadvantages and risks involved in using fake parts for their vehicles,” which could result in costly repairs or even place lives at risk. It also covers validation methods, packaging updates and other best practices to detect fake products
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Counterfeit Cashmere Clothes Containing Rat Fur Exposed
If it looks like cashmere, and it feels like cashmere, it’s probably cashmere. Then again, it could also be rat fur. This disturbing news surfaced after police in Italy seized more than a million counterfeit clothes Monday, marking the end of a year-long investigation into five Chinese-run firms in Rome. The Italian news agency ANSA reports cashmere coats manufactured and distributed by the companies were actually determined to be comprised of “a mixture of acrylic, viscose and fur from rats and other animals.” After they were manufactured in Rome, the items were distributed by a company near Florence, reports UPI. Fourteen Chinese-born people may face fraud charges as a result. The BBC adds police also seized knockoff merino wool, silk and pashmina garments, presumably also made via similarly dubious manufacturing processes.
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/media/in_the_news.php?article=4982
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In brief: Yet more seizures in NFL fakes crackdown
Over the last week, federal agents in the US have seized $1.5m worth of counterfeit NFL merchandise at a DHL air cargo facility in Cincinnati. The seizures are the latest to be announced as part of Operation Team Player, which has been carried out by the Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) and resulted in more than $21.6m in seizures leading up to last Sunday’s Super Bowl last week. “Working with our officers, agents and import specialists, CBP prevented the influx of more than 33,000 counterfeit NFL items … from entering our country,” commented Augustine Moore, the agency’s acting director of field operations in Chicago.
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Aston Martin recalls 17,590 cars due to counterfeit material
Aston Martin is recalling most of its sports cars built since late 2007 after discovering a Chinese sub-supplier was using counterfeit plastic material in a part supplied to the luxury sports carmaker. Aston Martin, which is owned by Kuwaiti and private equity investors, is recalling 17,590 cars, including all of its left-hand-drive models built since November 2007 and all right-hand-drive models built since May 2012, affecting about 75 percent of all vehicles built in that period, a spokeswoman said. The Vanquish is not affected. Aston Martin found that Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Limited, a Chinese subcontractor that molds the affected accelerator pedal arms, was using counterfeit plastic material supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd of Dongguan, according to documents filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-autos-astonmartin-recall-idUSBREA141B220140205
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Baramulla: Police arrest 3 timber smugglers
Baramulla police have arrested three timber smugglers while cutting the green gold in a forest area in Boniyar, a police spokesman said here Tuesday. “Today, acting on a tip off a police party of Police Station Boniyar headed by SHO Police station Boniyar apprehended three timber smugglars Ghulam Ahmad Bhat son of Muhammad Shabir resident Bachi, Trikanjan, Ghulam Nabi Sheikh son of Wali Muhammad Sheikh and Muhammad Maqbool Sheikh son of Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh residents of Ladi who were cutting green timber from forest compartment No 51 at Bachi Trikanjan Boniyar, Baramulla,” the spokesman said. A case FIR No 01 /2014 under section 379 RPC, 6 F. Act was registered against the trio in Police Station Boniyar and investigation has been started.
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