West Bengal: 3 arrested for printing counterfeit US dollars in Burdwan, BJP says TMC linked to the racket
On Thursday (May 19), the police had busted a factory, printing fake currency, including counterfeit US dollars as well as Indian Rupees, in East Mathpara near Khagragarh in the Burdwan district of West Bengal.
A total of 3 people, namely, Gopal Singh, Bipul Sarkar and Dipankar Chakraborty, were apprehended by the police in the case. ABP Ananda reported that Gopal rented a house with two other women about 5 months ago where Gopal set up the factory.
They had introduced themselves as human rights activists while renting the house. As per a report in News 18 Bangla, there were a total of 3 women in the house. Two of them were said to be physically disabled. One of the women also had a child.
Given their medical condition, the neighbours treated them with sympathy. However, they were oblivious to the fake currency factory that was being operated from that house by the accused.
https://www.opindia.com/2022/05/west-bengal-fake-currency-us-dollars-burdwan-tmc-bjp/
Lear MoreIllegal liquor worth Rs 70 lakh seized, 2 held in UP’s Amethi
Amethi (UP), May 18 (PTI) The police have arrested two men here and recovered illegal liquor worth Rs 70 lakh was recovered from them, officials said on Wednesday.
The seizure was made in a joint operation of the district police and a unit of Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police, they said.
“A truck was stopped by the team on the Lucknow- Sultanpur road following an intelligence. Illegal liquor was found stashed in the truck. The driver and another person in the vehicle could not prove that liquor was legal,” said Additional Superintendent of Police, Vinod Kumar Pandey.
The police arrested truck driver Vikram Meghwal and Jakir Khan, both residents of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
Later in a statement, the STF said illegal liquor worth 70 lakhs was recovered from the truck.
“The two accused informed that they were members of an interstate liquor smuggling racket. A case under relevant sections has been lodged and we are investigating the matter,” said the officer.
During investigation, the police found that the number plate of the vehicle was fake, officials said.
https://theprint.in/india/illegal-liquor-worth-rs-70-lakh-seized-2-held-in-ups-amethi/961439/
Lear MoreCustoms destroy P95-M worth of smuggled cigarettes
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT: The Bureau of Customs-Port of Subic destroyed P95 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and disposed of “overstaying” containerized cargoes last Thursday, May 12.
Port of Subic District Collector Maritess Martin said the condemned cargoes were part of the nine 40-footer container vans, three of which contained the cigarettes consigned to Goldlink Int’l. Subic Inc., which was seized last year.
The other six containers, reportedly containing assorted household goods and personal effects, were declared “overstaying,” or their owner had failed to claim them after an extended period.
Customs personnel brought the nine containers to the Greenleaf 88 Non-hazardous Waste Disposal facility in Pampanga for shredding, crushing and dumping. These are the approved disposal processes.
Martin assures the public that it will continue to implement measures to dispose of overstaying containers to ensure the unhampered flow of goods in the Port while remaining steadfast in its campaign against smuggling.
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Tripura: BSF foils smuggling attempt, seizes valuables worth over Rs 2.29 crores
Agartala (Tripura) [India], May 15 (ANI): The Tripura unit of Border Security Force (BSF) in its ‘Special Operations’, foiled another trans-border smuggling attempt across the India-Bangladesh International Border and seized items worth more than Rs 2.29 crores and arrested two smugglers, informed BSF on Sunday.
“BSF troops gave a big jolts to the trans-border smugglers by successfully seizing huge quantity of contraband items, besides 20.5 Kgs Ganja, recused 29 cattle heads having combined seizure value worth Rs. 2,29,33,241 along with Rs 10,500 Bangladeshi Taka. Two smugglers have also been apprehended in two different operations”, stated the BSF.
The arrested people have been idfentified as Madhu Data (55 years) and Pranam Majumdar (35 years). The apprehended persons along with seized mobile phones have been handed over to Manu Bazar police station in South Tripura.
“During wee hours of May 14, on specific Intelligence input the troops of BOP Srinagar, Ex-109 Bn BSF conducted a special joint operation along with Police and successfully recovered huge consignment of 102 Bundles containing assorted clothing items along with one van one Motorcycle and three mobile phones having total seizure value amounting to Rs 2,22,98,000 from a Godown in South Tripura’s Sabroom”, added BSF.
Lear More‘In Conversation with Mr. Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs’
FICCI CASCADE organized an “In Conversation with Mr. Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs” on 12th May 2022. The objective of the session was to throw light on the smuggling scenario in India, enforcement of laws related to indirect taxes, steps taken to contain tax evasion and initiatives taken by CBIC to combat this menace.
Addressing the ‘In Conversation Series’ organized by FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) Mr Johri, said, “Gold, narcotics, and cigarettes are highly prone to outright smuggling. He further highlighted the extent of the menace and said that “At CBIC, we are going aggressively against illicit trade in these goods. In 2021-22, we seized 92,000 kg of narcotics worth Rs 17,400 crore, during this period, we also seized 14 crore cigarette sticks”. He added that artificial intelligence and data analytics are playing a pivotal role in targeting instances of smuggling which have significantly helped the department to deal with the growing menace of illicit trade.
Mr. Johri also shared those unscrupulous players indulging in illicit activities misuse free trade agreements, export promotion schemes, and misuse end user-based exemptions. He accentuated that CBIC is trying to overcome these challenges in a systemic way and have ramped up the use of technology in their operations with 22 cargo scanners at 16 locations to ensure 100% scanning of all containers coming into the country through gateway ports.
Mr Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE in his welcome address said that smuggling and illicit trade is increasingly hurting Indian economy and have crept into multiple sections of the society. Immediate steps are required, both in the form of policy intervention and awareness generation, to address this growing menace.
He highlighted that it is indeed heartening to see how CBIC is using AI, Blockchain, Machine Learning to strengthen the enforcement agencies in detecting such malpractices. Complimenting the GST council and CBIC for a well-balanced tax policy and maintaining equal thrust on revenue augmentation and strict handling of tax evaders. He apprised how this has led to effective compliance and record-breaking revenue collections. He further added that we can already see some green shoots and are hopeful that going forward collaborative efforts between government agencies and industries would bring fruitful results for the country.
Mr P C Jha, Former Chairman, CBIC and Advisor, FICCI CASCADE while moderating the session stated that the magnitude of illicit market is large and with passage of time it is proliferating at an accelerated pace. One in 3 FMCG household and personal goods available in the market, is not genuine. Similarly, one out of 4 FMCG packaged food items and one out of 5 tobacco products including cigarette sold is an illicit product. Mr. Jha highlighted that FICCI CASCADE study indicates that in FY 2013-14 due to illicit trade in respect of just 7 items, total loss to government revenue was about Rs. 39000 crores and sales loss to the genuine industry was about Rs 1,05,000 crores.
FICCI CASCADE, in pursuance of its agenda, has been organizing series of such interactions with experts to understand various facets of illicit trade and its impact on the economy.
Watch the session live at:. https://youtu.be/V_wl8b8aXhU
Coverage reportDownload Pdf
Goa cops raid pharmacy, seize cannabis-based products
The North Goa district police in Goa on Wednesday seized cannabis-based gummies, digestive power, and ‘churan’ worth Rs 2.23 lakh from an allegedly illegal pharmacy.
Arjun Khanna, the owner of the pharmacy ‘Cannadoc clinic,’ has been arrested under the relevant provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, according to North Goa Superintendent of Police Shobhit Saxena.
“When police went to the store, they discovered a variety of cannabis-infused goods for sale. The employee at a store in Goa was unable to present any paperwork when asked about the authorization or licences required for selling cannabis-based items” Saxena explained.
“As a result, the police seized all of the cannabis-based treatments and items weighing around 7 kgs after finding no authorisation from any authority to sell them in Goa. The whole cost is Rs 2.23 lakh “Saxena added to this.
This is the first police raid in the state on a pharmacy selling cannabis-based items, which is also known as a narco-tourism hotspot.
Lear MoreDRI seizes 11 kg gold worth over Rs 5 crore, foils smuggling attempt
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has successfully foiled attempts of organised gold smuggling though air route by effecting two successive seizures in Lucknow and Mumbai last week, which had a common method of concealment of gold.
After having received precise intelligence on May 6, DRI officials inspected a consignment which had arrived from Dubai at Air Cargo Complex, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. In the import documents, the item was declared as sectional and drum type drain cleaning machines, but on careful examination, 5.8 kg gold valued at Rs 3.10 crore in disc form was found concealed inside two motor rotors of the machine imported in the said consignment.
The importer was located in South Mumbai and was arrested. The importer has been sent to judicial custody by a local court.
This seizure in Mumbai was on the heels of another seizure made by DRI Officers in Lucknow a day earlier on May 5. In that case too, DRI intercepted an import cargo said to contain an electrical threading machine at Air Cargo Complex of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, and gold discs were found concealed in the machines in a very similar fashion. Total 5.2 kg gold, valued at Rs 2.78 crore, was seized in this case.
Lear MoreRM2mil worth of contraband cigarettes seized in Kepong Baru
KUALA LUMPUR: The Central Brigade General Operations Force (GOF) crippled a cigarette-smuggling syndicate with the seizure of 8,207 cartons of various brands of the contraband, estimated to be worth RM2mil, in Kepong Baru, here, on Monday (May 9).
Cheras PGA Central Brigade commander Senior Asst ZulkifliJonit, in a statement, said a 55-year-old local man had been detained to assist investigation.
He said apart from the cigarettes, the PGA team also seized a mobile phone and an Isuzu D Max four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The syndicate is believed to have turned a rented house in a housing estate into a store to keep the smuggled cigarettes, he said, adding that the raid was conducted at the premises at about 11am.
He advised the public with information on smuggling activities to inform the police or the relevant authorities.- Bernama
Lear MoreThree arrested for printing, selling fake Indian currency notes in Thane
Police have arrested three men for printing fake Indian currency notes and selling them in Kalyan markets in Maharashtra. Printing machines, counterfeit notes worth Rs 39,500 and other note-making materials including water mark paper, photo rim were also seized from the accused’s possession.
The accused, identified as Rajnish Kumar Chaudhary, Harshad Khan and Arjun Kushwaha, all aged 19 were arrested from Kalyan railway station area when they reached the spot to exchange fake Indian currency notes.
Police had received information that the accused may reach ST stand located in front of Kalyan station to exchange fake currency notes. Acting on a tip-off, a trap was laid and the trio was arrested on the spot. Police also seized fake Indian currency notes which were in the denominations of Rs 200, 100 and 50.
Probe revealed that the notes were made at Rajnish’s house and then brought to the market for exchange.
Lear MoreTruck smuggling liquor in tetra packs to Bihar seized in Varanasi
A truck carrying a consignment of liquor worth Rs 5 lakh was seized in Varanasi that the police believe was being smuggled to Bihar.
The Varanasi Police and Drug Department raided a truck carrying a consignment of cough syrups and liquor worth Rs 5 lakh near the NatiImli road outpost.
The police had received information about a truck being loaded with cough syrups and liquor for illegal. Although the truck was seized, the drivers and smugglers managed to escape.
On examination of the goods in the truck, police found illegal cough syrups and liquor used in intoxicants stored in tetra packs. 1,200 vials of a cough syrup named Onrex kept in 10 boxes and liquor stored in 60 boxes was seized.
Amit Kumar Bansal, Drug Inspector (Varanasi), said that there is a possibility that this consignment was being smuggled to Bihar, where alcohol is banned. The total value of the goods seized was estimated to be around Rs 5 lakh.
Police and the Drug Department are investigating the case further.
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