Counterfeit cigarette smuggler ordered to pay £30,000 compensation
A counterfeit cigarette smuggler who was jailed for a scheme has been ordered to pay £30,000 in compensation to the tax authorities. Douglas Allison was convicted of being in charge of a smuggling gang that evaded excise on 13 million cigarettes. HM Revenue and Customs said the 47-year-old, from Dumfries and Galloway, had evaded an estimated £2.7m in excise duty on the counterfeit cigarettes. Allison, of Agnew Crescent, Stranraer, was previously found guilty of fraudulent or attempted avoidance of excise duty as well as money laundering charge.At Maidstone Crown Court last September, Allison was jailed for six and a half years for the offences. On Monday, HMRC said a confiscation order for the seizure of £30,000 had been ordered. If Allison fails to pay it, he could face a further year and two months in jail, the tax authority said. John Cooper, assistant director of HMRC’s criminal investigation unit, said: “Allison was a criminal who was motivated purely by greed to make a huge profit at the expense of honest taxpayers, pocketing money that could have been spent on public services for the benefit of the whole community.”The sale of smuggled cigarettes is unregulated and these products are often sold to children and young people. Local shopkeepers also suffer when sales are lost to the criminals that trade in illicit goods.
Lear MorePiracy caused rs1 lakh crore loss to industry in 2012
Last year the US Government had called New Delhi’s Nehru Place as one of the top 30 notorious IT markets of the world that deal in counterfeited goods. Nehru place is just a fraction of total grey market which operates in India. According to a study commissioned by industry body Ficci on pirated goods, grey market thriving in places like Nehru Place; Richie Street and Burma Bazaar in Chennai; Manish Market, Heera Panna, Lamington Road and the Fort District in Mumbai; and Chandni Chowk in Kolkata thrives on a more than Rs1,00,000 loss to the legitimate industry.Setting aside monetary loss, this market is putting consumers life to threat and causing serious health hazards. Horrifyingly, around 20 per cent of total road accidents in India are either directly or indirectly attributed to usage of fake auto components. Thankfully, the original manufacturing segment is safe from counterfeits as their products are directly supplier to vehicle manufacturer. It’s the after-market which throws these scary figures. The use of counterfeits resulted in 25,400 deaths and more than 93,000 injuries during 2009. In monetary loss terms, users are paying for an additional 109 million litres of petrol and 8 million litres of diesel per annum.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/business/piracy-caused-rs1-lakh-crore-loss-to-industry-in-2012.html
Lear MoreThis is real: Many goods in Chennai are fake
Chennai is becoming a city of fakes. While Mumbai and Delhi churn out spurious goods ranging from cosmetics and mobile phones to automobile parts, Chennai is buying them in large numbers. Enforcers of Intellectual Properties Rights (EIPR), a non-governmental organization working with police forces across the country to prevent counterfeits, says Chennai is the second largest market for fake mobile phones (after Mumbai), third for adulterated cosmetics (after Mumbai and Kolkata), and fourth for spurious automobile parts (after Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). There has been more than a three-fold increase in the number of counterfeit cases booked by the Tamil Nadu police. The number of seizures went up from 27 in 2011 to 85 in 2012. In the first two months of this year, there have been 31 cases. P C Jha, adviser, Ficci Cascade, recently told a gathering here that 25% of fast moving consumer goods in India were spurious. “Most of the fakes are sold in the grey market, but some enter supermarkets and retail stores too,” says Prateep V Philip, ADGP, CB-CID (crime).
Lear MoreWHEN FAKE BECOMES FAD Duplicate Mobile Phones Find Willing Buyers
Ritchie Street is the electronic hub of the city. The latest mobile phones, laptops, computer peripherals – you name it, they have it. But, have you paused to take a close look at the smart phone you got from there? It might be a fake. The type of fake product that floods the market depends on the demand, and experts say now it’s the time of electronic goods, especially mobile phones. In a street full of shops with genuine and fake goods, consumers can tell the difference only if they do their homework before purchase. Some knowingly buy a fake — why not, when you get a phone for 5,000 which is an imitation of something worth 32,000? Some others, however, are cheated by the sellers who claim it to be an original and price it closer. “I know mine is not an original Samsung Note. But, I don’t mind since it has all the features, and costs much less. I’ll be happy if it works for a year,” says a 25-yearold power plant employee. “The counterfeit market flourishes partly because of willing customers,” says Prateep V Philip, ADGP, CB-CID (crime). While afake mobile phone may not be a dangerous purchase, spurious cosmetics, automobile parts and electrical equipment can harm customers.
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Bangalore couple, 2 Nigerians held for selling fake cancer drugs
An Indian couple and two Nigerian nationals have been arrested for selling a senior citizen fake drugs for nearly Rs 12 lakh claiming it could cure cancer. The four approached the senior citizen through e-mail and lured him into believing that he can earn big money by selling the “drug” which was “pieces of wood mixed with hair-dye”. They collected Rs 11,95,000 from him, police said here. The Central Crime Branch (Women and Narcotics) squad arrested Revathi (20), her husband Muralidharan (22), both residents of Bangalore, along with Arebamen Abibu Obadan (35) and Joseph Nnamdi Emeanuwa (32), they said. The squad seized three laptops, as many mobile phones, a car and other valuables that the accused bought with the money. During investigation it came to light that the two Nigerians were overstaying in the country, as their visa had expired and had not been renewed. A local court has remanded the four in judicial custody. A search is on for the fifth accused and foreign national Mark Hebert who is absconding, police said.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/314559/bangalore-couple-2-nigerians-held.html
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Federal agents seize counterfeit goods
Agents with Immigration Customs Enforcement are on the scene, along with Huntsville Police, Decatur Police, and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department. Bryan Cox, spokesman for ICE, said agents seized counterfeit goods from the business, Friday. Boxes of merchandise were taken from the home and put outside. Agents received information that a man was selling counterfeit items at the building at 506 2nd Street. They found a large amount of counterfeit items, including Adidas clothing, Nike shoes, Polo clothing, Gucci handbags, Louis Vuitton handbags, Michael Kors handbags, and several other brands. Officials say the merchandise totaled to be more than $400,000. Investigators were out there for hours, packing up the items and hauling them off. The business is surrounded by homes, and many neighbors said they have bought items themselves. They had no idea the items were counterfeit, although they admit the situation did seem a little suspicious… The building is unmarked, surrounded by a fence, and guarded by two dogs. Neighbors said recently, business has been booming.”When I first moved here, there were two or three people you would see go in there, but in the last month, there have been car after car after car going by there with three or four people in the car. I think this happened because his business picked up,” said neighbor, Carolyn Persinger. So far, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
http://www.waff.com/story/21653691/federal-agents-seize-counterfeit-goods
Lear MoreTwo jailed for selling fake Premier League merchandise
Two Peterborough men have been sent to prison after being found guilty of illegal use of trademarks. Akil Thathia, (32) of Chatsfield, Werrington, and Shabir Maimoon, (30) of Carleton Crest, Walton, have been sent to prison for six months for selling counterfeit goods after pleading guilty under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Their business, Snuggle Ltd, was fined £2,000. The case was heard at Huntingdon Crown Court last month following an investigation into complaints received by Peterborough City Council’s Trading Standards. In January last year officers received a complaint regarding the sale and distribution of counterfeit Premier League merchandise (iPad covers and mobile phone socks) with the seller, a web based trader, located in Peterborough. A test purchase carried out by the Premier League’s anti-counterfeiting representative, (Back Four Brand Protection), had confirmed that an Everton iPad cover, sold via Amazon, was an unauthorised fake copy. The following month a warrant was executed by city council Trading Standards officers and computers linked to printers set up to print on phone covers were found. Examination of the computers found 2,850 graphic images of well-known registered trademarks. A separate case, linked to Shabir Maimoon, was heard on March 1 at Huntingdon Crown Court. Maimoon’s brother, Huzefa Ishaki, pleaded guilty and was given a six month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 200 hour community service order for similar Trade Marks Act offences with regard to his business Splash Prints. Splash Prints had around 20,000 items listed for sale on eBay with around 80 per cent of these carrying illegal trademarks. These were mainly posters and fridge magnets which Ishaki printed from home using a computer storing 2,500 trademarked graphics. Maimoon had assisted Ishaki in establishing his business through setting up an eBay account for him and lending him money to purchase stock. In the previous 13 months of trading, Splash Prints profited to the tune of more than £101,000 from the illegal use of trademarks. Councillor Peter Hiller, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning for Peterborough City Council, said: “These men have made huge amounts of money through the false use of trademarks; conning buyers out of their money and duping them into believing they are buying genuine items, and muddying the name of genuine trademarks and traders. “It is really encouraging to see all three men receive stern punishment for their actions and I hope this acts as a reminder to all those trading illegally- our officers will find you and you will be punished.” A spokesman for Premier League said: “The Premier League and its clubs run an anti-counterfeiting programme that involves working in partnership with Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and other statutory authorities across the country to help tackle the issue of fake goods being illegally produced and sold to football fans. “We applaud Peterborough Trading Standards for undertaking this investigation and uncovering an illegal business that is based on ripping off football fans through the use of false trademarks. “We will continue to work with the relevant law enforcement authorities, sports rights holders and the clubs to tackle this on-going problem. If fans have any doubts about the legitimacy of a seller of club merchandise they should contact the relevant club or email info@premierleague.com.”Two Peterborough men have been sent to prison after being found guilty of illegal use of trademarks. Akil Thathia, (32) of Chatsfield, Werrington, and Shabir Maimoon, (30) of Carleton Crest, Walton, have been sent to prison for six months for selling counterfeit goods after pleading guilty under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Their business, Snuggle Ltd, was fined £2,000. The case was heard at Huntingdon Crown Court last month following an investigation into complaints received by Peterborough City Council’s Trading Standards. In January last year officers received a complaint regarding the sale and distribution of counterfeit Premier League merchandise (iPad covers and mobile phone socks) with the seller, a web based trader, located in Peterborough. A test purchase carried out by the Premier League’s anti-counterfeiting representative, (Back Four Brand Protection), had confirmed that an Everton iPad cover, sold via Amazon, was an unauthorised fake copy. The following month a warrant was executed by city council Trading Standards officers and computers linked to printers set up to print on phone covers were found. Examination of the computers found 2,850 graphic images of well-known registered trademarks. A separate case, linked to Shabir Maimoon, was heard on March 1 at Huntingdon Crown Court. Maimoon’s brother, Huzefa Ishaki, pleaded guilty and was given a six month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 200 hour community service order for similar Trade Marks Act offences with regard to his business Splash Prints. Splash Prints had around 20,000 items listed for sale on eBay with around 80 per cent of these carrying illegal trademarks. These were mainly posters and fridge magnets which Ishaki printed from home using a computer storing 2,500 trademarked graphics. Maimoon had assisted Ishaki in establishing his business through setting up an eBay account for him and lending him money to purchase stock. In the previous 13 months of trading, Splash Prints profited to the tune of more than £101,000 from the illegal use of trademarks. Councillor Peter Hiller, Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Planning for Peterborough City Council, said: “These men have made huge amounts of money through the false use of trademarks; conning buyers out of their money and duping them into believing they are buying genuine items, and muddying the name of genuine trademarks and traders. “It is really encouraging to see all three men receive stern punishment for their actions and I hope this acts as a reminder to all those trading illegally- our officers will find you and you will be punished.” A spokesman for Premier League said: “The Premier League and its clubs run an anti-counterfeiting programme that involves working in partnership with Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and other statutory authorities across the country to help tackle the issue of fake goods being illegally produced and sold to football fans. “We applaud Peterborough Trading Standards for undertaking this investigation and uncovering an illegal business that is based on ripping off football fans through the use of false trademarks. “We will continue to work with the relevant law enforcement authorities, sports rights holders and the clubs to tackle this on-going problem.
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Ghanaian firms marketing fake drugs from India?
At a time the Indian pharmaceutical industry is attempting to brand itself to counter allegations of exporting counterfeit drugs, Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has accused three local companies of distributing fake drugs from India. The clampdown on the three companies came just days after 62 companies, under the umbrella of India’s Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), ended an exhibition in neighbouring Nigeria. The exhibition, Pharmexcil said in a statement, was intended to “live up to the challenges of increasing market share in existing and new markets and countering the negative publicity in some countries by vested interests”. In addition to increasing its market share, Pharmexcil is also engaged in a Brand India Pharma Campaign with the key objective to raise the awareness of Indian pharma’s success story and “to create awareness that Indian generics are not counterfeits and are bonafide”.” Additionally, the campaign is meant to shield the industry from dubious allegations by vested interests to pave way to “position India as the global pharmacy of the world”. It was in line with this that the exhibition was held in Nigeria March 7-8. Pharmexcil said the exhibition, the third to be held, provided Indian companies the opportunity to showcase “India’s latest range of pharmaceuticals products including bulk drugs, formulations, biotech products and herbals.” The event, Pharmexcil said, also provided an opportunity to pharmaceutical stake-holders in Nigeria and in the neighbouring West African region to meet their Indian counterparts to discuss procurement, joint ventures, technology transfer and marketing tie-ups. The FDA accusation has thus come to destroy the clean image that Pharmexcil is trying to build. FDA said it had uncovered the widespread fraud by the three companies that has put the lives of millions at the risk of fatality by distributing fake and substandard medicines. Samples of the Ergometrine injection from India’s Ciron Drugs were found to be substandard as they contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients, FDA said. “Fake, substandard and contaminated imported Ergometrine injections when given to women will fail to control bleeding after child delivery and could result in death,” it said. Though hospitals were not able to provide any information on the number of women and perhaps deaths this has caused, health workers told IANS that this is a real problem that has affected the country’s health delivery system. In the case of Nigeria, Pharmexcil said, it is working with the country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies to protect, promote and diversify the Nigerian pharmaceutical market. In line with this, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector in March 2011 which have helped to intensify “collaboration to prevent anti-counterfeiting of Indian pharmaceuticals”. “Indian medicines have long been present in Nigeria and India has traditionally been the largest source of medicines to this country, supplying over a third of the market. Indian pharma products’ popularity is based on their efficacy and competitive prices,” Pharmexcil added. It said there are more than 30 Indian pharma companies located in Lagos alone and engaged in manufacturing and/or importing Indian products. By the end of March last year, India exported drugs, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals to Nigeria worth $307.60 million, a significant growth of 37 percent over the previous year. Pharmexcil says India is the world’s third largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume with an annual turnover estimated at over $20 billion in domestic prices, which are significantly lower than global prices. “With the industry growing at 13 percent annually, the turnover is expected to grow five-fold by 2020,” it added. It said India’s global pharma exports are expected to be around $14 billion in the year ending March 31 2013, up nearly 25 percent over last year, adding: “While the Indian pharmaceutical industry is famous for generics, it is also making fast inroads into branded products, especially in biotechnology.”
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Sellers facing charges for counterfeit items at flea market
19 people are facing charges from selling $1.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise at the Plaza Flea Market in Baltimore County. On February 16, detectives began serving search warrants on approximately 16 vendors who were believed to be selling counterfeit property at the flea market, according to Baltimore County Police. Detectives began investigating after complaints were received about counterfeit property. Police seized shirts, jackets, movies, CDs, sunglasses, jewelry, clothing, purses, including over 3,500 counterfeit phone accessories and over 4,000 pairs of counterfeit shoes. Detectives estimate the worth of the merchandise around $1.5 million. County police said that while search warrants were being served, detectives shut down the flea market to ensure that the vendors involved remained at the scene and that no evidence was removed from the property. The seized merchandise was evaluated by trademark experts who found 19 individuals faced with charges that included selling counterfeit merchandise. County police say that counterfeit merchandise is problematic for many reasons including consumer safety and taxes that are used to support local and state governments are not collected.
Lear MoreRs 2,800 crore penalty on telecom companies for 19L fake SIMs
The Department of Telecom (DoT) slapped penalty of Rs2,800 crore on major telecom companies between 2007 and 2012 after at least 19 lakhSIM cards were found to have been issued by them on fake identity papers.Under pressure, these telecom majors have started shedding SIM cards obtained with fake identity papers and have already deposited Rs 400 crore with the government against the penalty raised against them for failing to adhere to ‘know your customer’ (KYC) norms.The hefty penalty was imposed after TOI highlighted in a series of stories how SIM cards were procured on fake identity documents and some of which were used by terrorists to trigger blasts. When the government and telecom companies were in denial mode, TOI procured two SIMs in the name of then home secretary and the then Intelligence Bureau director without having to deposit any proof of their identity.The two connections, one post-dated and the other pre-paid, were activated by the firms without checking the veracity of the persons in whose name the connections were issued and the documents submitted as proof. Though initially the penalty amount imposed by DoT was Rs 1,000 for each SIM card obtained on fake papers, after 2009, the government raised it to a maximum of Rs 50,000 when huge discrepancies were discovered during scrutiny of customer application forms (CAF) of these firms.The maximum penalty was imposed on those telecom operators whose accuracy rate of correct proof of identity and address (PIA) was less than 80% of the total CAF checked.The telecom companies have, however, contested the graded system of penalty and have instead asked the government to impose penalty based on the income tax slab and that too retrospectively. Doing away with the graded system of penalty may bring down the current demand to one-third of the penalties imposed. A Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal order has also gone in favour of telecom companies which are seeking lowering of penalty.
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