Counterfeiting a Major Problem in Cameroon
YAOUNDE — The government of Cameroon said international trade in counterfeit and pirated products cost the west African country $2 billion this year. This total does not include domestically produced and consumed counterfeit and pirated products and the significant volume of pirated digital products being distributed via the Internet. It says the items counterfeiters and pirates produce and distribute are dangerous, posing health and safety risks. It is business as usual at the Ekounou Market, known for the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods in the heart of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. From toothpaste to industrial products, drugs, drinks and textiles, everything looks fake. Yvette Tomo, a middle-aged merchant, tells VOA that it is not only at their market where counterfeited goods are bought and sold in broad daylight. “In Cameroon, you have an impression that practically everything is fake,” she noted. “If people also counterfeit medicines and baby milk then the situation is very bad.”
http://www.voanews.com/
Nobody is immune to negative effect of contraband tobacco
As British Columbia completes its annual pre-budget consultation, the province would be wise to exercise extreme caution when it comes to tobacco taxation. While governments have been known to be quite addicted to tobacco taxes, and use taxation as an easy fix — as evidenced by the latest $2-per-carton increase that took effect in B.C. on Oct. 1 — there are serious negative and unintended consequences that come with a high tax policy. It does not take a degree in economics to figure out what happens when the price of a product is increased time and again: Consumers look for cheaper alternatives. When it comes to tobacco in Canada, that alternative is readily available through an illegal, untaxed and unregulated market. While B.C. is fortunate to have not yet seen illegal tobacco levels like those found in Ontario and Quebec, which reached 48 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in 2008, the threat remains very real. In recent years, illegal tobacco shipments from Ontario and Quebec have been seized across Canada, including in B.C.
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Forest products smuggling rampant at border areas
Taking advantage of virtually non-existent administrative mechanism in the remote border areas rare and precious forest products such as Ginseng, orchids and root species called Khuikhe in Tangkhul dialect are being smuggled in truck-loads to China via Myanmar through the porous international border in Ukhrul district sector. The illegal trading in forest products came to light when this reporter recently went to Tusom area under Jessami sub-division of Ukhrul district and spotted loads of wild-plants transported into Myanmar for its final destination in China where information has been received about the plants being used in manufacture of medicines. It is said that for the last many years huge quantity of wild plant species found abundantly in Tusom and adjoining villages used to be smuggled into Myanmar in Shaktiman trucks, Tata DI and other goods carriers.
http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=1..241013.oct13
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Five men arrested smuggling TVs, umbrellas from SA
Police detectives in Bulawayo on Tuesday impounded a South African-registered vehicle and arrested five men on charges of allegedly smuggling beer, television sets, bar lights and umbrellas from the neighbouring country. The Toyota Sprinter 25-seater registration BB50 YP GP was intercepted by detectives from the border control unit along Samuel Parirenyatwa Street as it entered Bulawayo from South Africa. The vehicle was loaded with 35 crates of beer, five LCD television sets, bar lights and switches, and close to 8 000 umbrellas, police sources told Southern Eye yesterday. The vehicle that was being driven by Lucky Ndlovu was impounded and driven to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) depot adjacent the National Railways of Zimbabwe’s Raylton Club. The Southern Eye saw the impounded vehicle and the smuggled goods at the Zimra depot yesterday. Bulawayo police spokesperson inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo was said to be off-duty and his office asked Southern Eye to call this morning for an official comment. Smuggling of goods, especially cigarettes, is rampant at the Beitbridge border post.
http:// bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-local-byo-37752.html
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Exploiting your supply chain: confessions of a counterfeiter
Lessons learned from someone who exploits the “not-so-best” practices of the pharmaceuticals supply chain. You don’t know me, but I built my profitable business by exploiting yours. Doing so has been quite simple, just by observing your predictable routines and trusting behaviors. Your preoccupation with service levels, inventory management, speed of delivery and global sourcing networks has shown me that even the most dedicated and hard-working contributors in the supply chain are also naïve and uninformed. The way you process countless transactions and inventory transfers without verification – my fortune is built upon your trust-sans-verification habits. To the intellectual property (IP) owners who are shocked by my proclamation, you should consider it a compliment – isn’t imitation the sincerest form of flattery? In fact, I am indebted to you for establishing a trusted brand name among the user community, thereby establishing a healthy base of business to be exploited. Nevertheless, I’ll share my secrets to prove that you, the legitimate masters of industry, are actually my accomplices. You’ll be unable to render me powerless until you dissolve your competitive strongholds, share control of the supply chain and promote visibility, collaboration and knowledge sharing. This is a chance to see how you’re not only losing the fight against counterfeiting, but you’re also unknowingly enabling it.
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Seizures of cash linked to organised crime reach record high
Money linked to cigarette gangs accounts for half forfeiture orders in courts in 2013
The number of seizures of cash linked to organised crime has reached record levels and large seizures are increasingly being linked to the black market cigarette trade. Revenue’s customs officers in June seized the largest amount of cash ever found in the State, with some €300,000 worth of euro, sterling, Canadian and US dollars found in one operation.
The gang involved specialised in cigarette smuggling. Figures obtained by The Irish Times reveal in the first eight months of the year there were 43 seizures of cash in the State, almost as many as the record 48 seizures for the full year in 2012. Five years ago, there were just 15 seizures. Revenue sources said some of the money was being taken out of the State to buy 40ft containers of cigarettes to be smuggled in. Some cost 50 cent a pack and were resold on the black market at €4.50 or half the recommended retail price. Under changes to the Proceeds of Crime Act, Revenue can seize cash it suspects is linked to any form of crime, and not just the drug trade, as was the case before. The legislation is proving particularly effective against cigarette gangs, with cash linked to that trade this year accounting for half of the forfeiture orders. These orders are needed to permanently retain seized money. “When we move against the cigarette gangs we are more likely to find larger sums of money than when we seize drugs, but a few years ago it would have been the other way around,” said one Revenue source.
Gucci wins $144 million in US counterfeit trial
New York City — Gucci on Thursday welcomed a US court’s decision to award the global fashion empire $144.2 million in damages from online sellers of counterfeit merchandise. A list of 155 domain names, sued for selling and promoting counterfeit Gucci merchandise, were ordered to shut down or surrender to Gucci within 30 days. Gucci filed the lawsuit earlier this year, accusing the online sellers of counterfeiting and cybersquatting. The court on Wednesday ruled in Gucci’s favor. The websites copied Gucci campaign advertisements, logos, product images and descriptions from official websites, and many also used Gucci in their domain name. The sites were registered in Britain, Canada, the Cocos Islands, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. Gucci president and CEO Patrizio di Marco welcomed the judgment and said the company would continue to fight against counterfeiting across the globe. The websites exploited “Gucci’s unique creativity which has been harmful to Gucci?s image, business and well-known trademark reputation for creating high quality artisanal ‘Made in Italy’ products,” the firm said.
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Counterfeit goods worth N$12m seized
WINDHOEK – A two-day Interpol operation that combed through Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Malawi and Zambia seized counterfeit products in excess of N$12 million. The seized goods comprised of pirated toys, cigarettes, electrical chargers, shavers, CDs, DVD players, sports wear, as well as laptops with pirated Microsoft software. In Namibia alone, Interpol seized 4 860 cartons of fake ‘Yes’ cigarettes. Interpol had codenamed the sting ‘Operation Kalahari’ and it took place on September 12 and 13, with the involvement of the country’s police, customs and prosecutors. Interpol said the operation succeeded in targeting many locations including well-established shops where both fake and genuine products were sold side by side. “[The operation] shows that any product can and will be counterfeited by criminals and sold to an unsuspecting public,” Francoise Dorcier, the Criminal Intelligence Officer with Interpol’s Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting Programme, which coordinated the operation, said in a statement.
http://www.newera.com.na/2013/10/17/counterfeit-goods-worth-n12m-seized/
Lear MorePolice hunt for men who stole cigarettes from Preston tobacco shop
POLICE are searching for seven men who broke into a Melbourne shopping centre and stole a large amount of cigarettes. Investigators have been told the group of men, who had hooded tops covering their faces, broke into the Murray Road shopping centre in Preston at 2.20am. The offenders targeted a tobacco shop within the centre and loaded the stolen goods into a silver car before driving off. Police are appealing for witnesses and are keen to speak to the driver of a white van that was seen in the car park at time of the incident. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au
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Brothers jailed for smuggling contraband shisha tobacco
Two brothers were jailed at the Old Bailey this afternoon after customs officers mounted their biggest ever investigation into contraband shisha tobacco. They attempted to smuggle more than 5.8 tonnes into the country which would have cost the Government more than £500,000 in lost tax. The two brothers, Mahfouz and Sayyeduz Chowdhury from Camden had disguised the tobacco from Dubai as Arabian incense. The Customs operation started in April 2012, after UK Border Force officers at Tilbury docks discovered 2.2 tonnes of Shisha in a consignment from Dubai in 2,200 packages with false labels. The consignment was destined for a shisha café in Kilburn operated by Sahara Lounge Ltd run by the Chowdhurys.
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