Author: adminficci

Greater Manchester counterfeit goods conspiracy smashed

Greater Manchester Police have smashed a multi-million pound conspiracy to manufacture, import and sell counterfeit goods in the region.Thousands of pounds worth of fake clothing, shoes and watches with a trade value of around £500,000 was seized in Stretford during Operation Bank.The gang behind the conspiracy were convicted of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court last week.Sarwari Dlague, 33, of Ballater Walk, Cheetham Hill was sentenced to three years in prison, while Agha Khan, 27, of the same area, was jailed for 12 months.Taiba Parsa, 26, of Drake Street, Rochdale and Ayesha Sarwary, 30, of Alexandra Road, Manchester were both given community service orders.Mahmood Shah, 44, of Hilton Crescent, Prestwich was jailed for two years and Abdul Jalil, 34, of Duffield Court, Brennan Close to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.The gang were responsible for importing counterfeit goods from places such as China to business premises known as The Late Shop on Greatstone Road, Stretford.Evidence was seized that revealed counterfeit labels for 45 different brands of designer goods were then added to the items. Once they had been branded with the fake designer labels, they were then shipped onto another retail premises – The One Shop on Bury New Road – to be sold on to members of the public.Two other offenders – Qand Agha Sarwary and Sherin Agha Sarwary who are the brothers of Sarwari Dlague – are still outstanding and circulated as wanted.Detective Constable Paul Yates and Detective Constable Sue Barker, who led the investigation, said: “Counterfeiting on this scale requires serious organisation, established distribution channels and money. Judging by the swathes of boxes we seized that were stuffed with fake goods, it is clear this gang had set up a highly profitable criminal venture and were pocketing large sums of cash.“However, their arrogance and mistaken belief they could act with impunity eventually cost them dear.“We seized so much documentation and evidence that revealed both the scale of this criminal network and the undeniable involvement of those convicted. The evidence was so overwhelming that they must have thought they would never be caught. But thanks to our officers their entire network came crashing down around them.“I would like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of the officers involved who have helped achieve these excellent convictions, which have far-reaching implications for everyone working and living in Manchester.

“I want to make it clear just how damaging counterfeit goods can be not only to the UK economy but businesses right here in Manchester.“The cost of counterfeit goods for trademark owners, consumers and the UK economy is huge. The Home Office estimates the criminal gain from counterfeiting in the UK alone is worth £1.3bn every year.“While it might seem like a victimless crime and that buying a knock-off watch over the Internet is harmless, you are actually putting legitimate businesses at risk and as a consequence, putting people⿿s jobs on the line. In times of austerity, local businesses here in Manchester thrive on trade and if people are being persuaded to buy fake goods elsewhere, it put those businesses and people’s livelihoods in jeopardy.“That is why the successful conclusion of this case is such a fantastic result for retailers across the city. It sends out a powerful message that anyone involved in the importation and sale of counterfeit goods will be caught and face stringent penalties.“Greater Manchester Police is working very closely with trademark owners, HM Revenue and Customs, Trading Standards, the commercial industry and other enforcement agencies to target these bandits and together we will do everything in our power to disrupt the organised crime groups involved.”
l#egvQ6RE1zKGTIlly.99 

Value of seized fake goods dropped in 2012

A total of P5.2 billion worth of fake merchandise was seized in 2012, down 37.9 percent from the P8.38 billion worth of counterfeit items seized in 2011, indicating an improvement in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.IPOPHL director general Ricardo R. Blancaflor said his agency had partnered with the likes of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and even the US Embassy to further clamp down on IP violations.Philippine authorities noted an annual drop in the value of confiscated fake merchandise in 2012 from 2011 due to improved enforcement of intellectual property laws.Blancaflor said among the reasons for the drop were the high value of seizures in 2011, lower value of goods seized, change in command in relevant agencies, as well as less visible or minimized selling of fake goods in areas where IP enforcement is strong.“In terms of the number of pieces of seized items, 2012 has a bigger number than 2011 but in 2011, most of the seized items were Swiss watches, which are higher in value,” Blancaflor said.Among enforcement agencies, the National Bureau of Investigation seized the most counterfeit goods with the value estimated at P2.7 billion, down 48.22 percent from P5.22 billion in 2011.The Optical Media Board was second with P1.16 billion worth of goods seized, down 5.99 percent from P1.23 billion in 2011,  while the Bureau of Customs had P1.1 billion (down 26.67 percent from P1.5 billion) worth of seized fake items.The Philippine National Police chalked up P247 million worth of seizures, down 42.95 percent from P433 million the previous year.The bulk of the seized counterfeit items were luxury items such as handbags, followed by optical media such as digital video discs (CDs and DVDs).

http://business.inquirer.net/105597/value-of-seized-fake-goods-dropped-in-2012

Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Counterfeit Tobacco Products into the U.S

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Lin Xiao Wei, 32, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence today to importing counterfeit tobacco products into the United States from China, earmarked for Rhode Island. Wei admitted to the court that beginning in February 2012, he arranged for the shipment of a 22-foot cargo container containing counterfeit cigarettes.Wei, who has been detained since his arrest in Miami on June 4, 2012, by the Rhode Island Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) Task Force, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to one count of causing the sale of counterfeit tobacco products.Wei’s guilty plea was announced by Peter F. Neronha, United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, and Mark Dragonetti, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI).Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Wei admitted that he arranged for the purchase and shipment from China to the United States of a 20-foot cargo container of counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes. The cargo container, which shipping documentation claimed contained 696 cartons of leather products, was shipped from a port in China on March 27, 2012.Between the time Wei allegedly agreed to ship the fraudulent tobacco products to the U.S., and the arrival of the cargo container through a port in Miami on April 27, 2012, several wire transactions were sent to Wei for the cost of the product and associated shipping fees. Upon arrival in Miami, FDA-OCI and Homeland Security Investigations agents seized the container.According to information presented to the court, on June 3, 2012, Wei met at a Miami hotel with a confidential informant who was working with investigators, and an undercover FDA-OCI Task Force agent from Rhode Island. Wei discussed the shipment of the fraudulent tobacco products, as well as previous shipments of counterfeit pharmaceutical products and the availability of other fraudulent products.Wei is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2013. Causing the sale of counterfeit tobacco products carries a maximum sentence of 3 years in federal prison; a fine of $10,000; and 3 years of supervised release.U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha thanked Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the District of Southern Florida, and his staff, for their assistance in this matter.U.S. Attorney Neronha also commended FDA-OCI Rhode Island Task Force members, Rhode Island State Police, East Providence Police and North Providence Police for their efforts in this multi-jurisdictional investigation.U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha also thanked Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance in this investigation.The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard B. Myrus and Adi Goldstein.

Bulgarian customs officers find fake perfumes worth over EUR 1 million, heroin worth over BGN 1 million

Svilengrad. Bulgarian customs officers at Svilengrad checkpoint have found fake perfumes worth over EUR 1 million and heroin worth over BGN 1 million in a container with empty jars, announced the National Customs Agency.The fake goods and drug were transported on rails from Turkey to Western Europe. According to its papers the container was transporting 22 pallets with empty jars from a company in Turkey to a company in the Netherlands. However, the ultimate unloading point was said to be a town in Germany. The discrepancy made the customs officers suspicious and they checked the container. Pallets with empty jars were hiding pallets covered with empty cardboard boxes to imitate a similar height. The customs officers found 18 pallets with a total of 30,000 packages of perfume and toilet water imitating 30 world famous trademarks, such as Boss, Chanel, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Givenchy, Armani and Calvin Klein. They are estimated at EUR 1 million. This is the biggest amount of fake perfumes the customs officers have seized in the recent years.They also discovered that the cardboard perfume packages in two of the cardboard boxes contained plastic envelopes with a powder-like substance which tested positive for heroin. The drug weighs 8,5 kg in total and is worth over BGN 1 million.An investigating customs inspector is working on the case under the supervision of Haskovo District Prosecutor’s Office.

Contraband tobacco trade up by 12% in India

High excise duty on cigarettes in India has resulted in the growth of contraband trade of the product with the total market estimated to reach Rs. 1,900 crore this year, up nearly 12% from the previous year, according to industry estimates. In 2010-11, the size of contraband cigarettes market in India was aroundRs. 1,700 crore.According to industry players, 17 billion cigarette sticks are smuggled into the country every year, making India the sixth highest consumer of smuggled cigarettes in the world.

Experts cited the huge price differential in India and neighbouring countries as one of the primary reasons for the increase in smuggling of cigarette in India.

Low cost cigarettes make their way to India from countries like China, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan, they said.

“Smuggled and contraband cigarettes are becoming a bigger and bigger problem in India. There are lot of illegal cigarettes, which are smuggled from outside India and even counterfeit products are also sold in huge quantity,” an official working with a cigarettes company said.The government needs to take serious action to control the illegal trade, he added.

The smuggled cigarettes of 80 mm size could still be cheaper than an authentic regular sized 70 mm filter cigarette in India. “This is a direct threat to the filter segment which constitutes 69% of the total Indian cigarette market,” the official said.

When asked about the factors behind the increase in illegal trade of the product, he said, “Extreme high excise duty and VAT rate on cigarettes in India make smuggling a particularly attractive proportion.”Citing an example, he said the total tax on a legitimate R100 pack is as high as R68, but as contraband cigarettes do not pay any of those taxes, they are priced at up to R80 and still allow a high margin.

According to the industry estimates, 60 million sticks are smuggled every month in Mumbai followed by 35 million sticks in Delhi and 20 million sticks per month in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Counterfeit products target of website

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is hoping a new website dedicated to fighting counterfeit merchandise will help the state chip away at an unlawful, billion-dollar industry.

The Mississippi Intellectual Property Crime Center was launched Monday. Hood says it’s the first statewide website where counterfeit sales activity can be reported.

People can report where potential counterfeit clothing, CDs, DVDs or other bogus items are being sold, view pictures of counterfeit goods and look at the state’s laws concerning intellectual-property theft and links to other organizations that combat knock-off items.

“This is a first-of-its-kind website,” Hood said while seated at a table strewn with bogus golf shirts, ball caps, handbags and a counterfeit iPod seized by state officials. “Instead of calling in, (people) can fill out a form online if they see a product they think is counterfeit.”

The form asks for the street address, city and zip code of counterfeit activity. Those who fill it out have the option to remain anonymous.

Hood says manufacturers are losing $250 billion in sales nationwide each year through the sale of counterfeits. He did not have state-specific figures.And the goods can pose great safety hazards, he said, noting a woman in Tupelo who suffered a damaged retina after buying bogus contact lenses.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported 19,959 seizures of counterfeit goods in 2010 with a value of $188.1 million – a 34 percent increase. Authentic items would have cost $1.4 billion.While law enforcement is making inroads, technology has made it easier for counterfeiters to produce knock-off goods “to near perfection,” says Joe LaRocca, a senior adviser to the National Retail Federation, a trade group for retailers.Consumers’ emphasis on low-cost items in a still-recovering economy opens up a new path for counterfeiters, too, he said.“It impacts any sector of retail – from sunglasses and handbags to the labeling of food,” LaRocca said.Counterfeit goods tend to be sold by street vendors and available at discount and secondhand stores, but also occasionally work their way into a retail store’s supply, he said.People who make and sell counterfeit goods often have backgrounds in drugs, gangs or other illegal activities and sell the merchandise to fund larger-scale criminal operations, officials say.“They’re folks who have chosen this lifestyle. They think it’s safer,” says Richie McCluskey, chief investigator with the state’s Consumer Protection Division.Hood says the website aims to streamline the reporting process and help people identify a counterfeit item.

HP Kuwait Highlights Latest Product Innovations and Technologies against counterfeits

HP announced earlier today as part of their ongoing fight against counterfeits, new product innovations and technologies that will build further leadership momentum around printing and workflow solutions. The event was in the form of an interesting panel discussion with speakers from HP, Microsoft and Sheikha Rasha Naif Al Jaber Al Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director of IPR at the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The event was well attended by HP’s customers, partners and key media representatives.

“Awareness is key when it comes to fighting counterfeit products and it’s our constant endeavor to update customs, law enforcement authorities, our channel partners and our valuable customers on the latest products and technologies that help spot suspicious printing supplies.” said Omar Draghmeh Managing Director, HP Kuwait. “Our focus is always to give customers the quality and reliability they can count on. Our new labels on cartridges feature sophisticated holographic properties as well as a new Quick Response (QR) code which customers can easily validate using a web-enabled smartphone or online via a new HP web page. We are investing heavily to protect our partners, distributors and customers across the Middle East region.”

Officials from the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft and HP discussed the challenges posed by counterfeit goods and piracy to Kuwait and the wider Middle East region. The participants affirmed that education and increased vigilance, as well as evolving technologies including HP Mobile Authentication and Software Authentication will help protect consumers and businesses against fake merchandise.HP’s Mobile Authentication technology enables customers to verify the authenticity of their cartridge prior to purchase through the validation of coded security labels on both inkjet and LaserJet cartridges. Subsequently, customers can also validate cartridge authenticity by using the HP Software Authentication solution installed in HP printers.

The HP Anti-counterfeit Programme EMEA is making great progress in the fight against counterfeiting of its print cartridges and in protecting end-users and HP channel partners from falling victim to this illegal activity. All over EMEA, over the last four years, HP has conducted nearly 1,000 investigations, resulting in over 800 enforcement actions (raids and seizures by authorities) and nearly 9 million units of counterfeit products and components seized, thus preventing them from being sold in the EMEA marketplace and beyond.The HP ACF Programme encourages the reporting of information on suspicious printing supplies products or offers, no matter where the information comes from. Every lead is acknowledged and assessed and further action is taken as appropriate. There are several reporting channels through which suspicions can be reported to the Programme.