Foreign cigarettes: A challenge for Assam Police
GUWAHATI: Guwahati has turned into a hub of foreign cigarettes in India. Foreign cigarettes go to the other states of the country from Guwahati. It is another challenge for the state police force that has waged war against drugs. According to police sources, foreign cigarettes come to Guwahati by vehicles or trains via Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.
The margin of profit is very high. A packet of foreign cigarettes costs Rs Rs 20 in Myanmar. The smugglers sell such a packet Rs 80 in Guwahati, the police said.
Foreign cigarettes come to Guwahati mainly from Myanmar and Korea, the police added. Smokers do not know the nicotine content of foreign cigarettes as all information on packets are in foreign languages. The GRP (Government Railway Police) seized 3,000 packets of foreign cigarettes from January to the first week of November in 2021 against 390 packets in the Corona-marred 2020. In 2019, the GRP seized 4,410 packets of foreign cigarettes.
https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/foreign-cigarettes-a-challenge-for-assam-police-568674
Lear MoreMAD 2.5 Million of Phone Accessories Seized in Nador
Rabat – Morocco’s Customs and Excise Administration seized more than MAD 2.5 million ($268,000) worth of mobile phone accessories at the port of Nador.
A press release from the port’s administration said that the seizure included 132,176 mobile phone chargers, 101 thousand car charging adapters, 10 thousand batteries, and close to 5,000 pieces of miscellaneous phone accessories.
The goods were imported with fraudulent processes and with no declaration, in an apparent effort to avoid paying customs duties and evade the control standards imposed on this type of product.
Poor quality electric accessories and chargers can pose a danger in the form of fire hazards and electric accidents, hence the strict standards enforced by authorities, said the release.
This operation comes in addition to similar operations conducted by Moroccan authorities earlier this year.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/12/346093/mad-2-5-million-of-phone-accessories-seized-in-nador
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Mastermind of counterfeit liquor racket detained under PASA
Vadodara: An expert in making counterfeit liquor, Nitin Kotvani was detained under the Prevention of Anti-Social Act (PASA) by the prevention of crime branch (PCB) on Wednesday. Kotvani is one of the key accused in the recent racket busted by cops where liquor was being manufactured at a unit meant for making ayurvedic syrup on the outskirts of the city.
“He was booked under PASA for being a ‘dangerous person’. Kotvani has committed similar crimes in the past and he is a habitual offender whose activities can endanger lives,” said Jatin Patel, police inspector. The police said that Kotvani can make formulations for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).
“He has done Bachelors in Science (BSc) and hence he has a thorough knowledge of chemicals. Many years ago, he was booked for making non-alcoholic beer that had more liquor content,” Patel told TOI. Thirty-six-year-old Kotvani was also arrested earlier this year for making duplicate sanitiser during the second wave of Covid.
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Assam: 8 Cartons Of Illegal Burmese Cigarettes Seized, 1 Held
One person was arrested along with a large quantity of illegal foreign cigarettes in Lailapur in Assam’s Cachar district on Thursday.
Foreign cigarettes believed to be of Burmese origin were recovered by the police from one Noor Ahmed in Lailapur in Cachar.
The accused was reportedly trying to smuggle them from Aizawl to Silchar when he was caught.
Meanwhile, police have recovered 8 cartons of Burmese cigarettes from his possession. The culprit has been taken in for further questioning.
https://www.pratidintime.com/assam-8-cartons-of-illegal-burmese-cigarettes-seized-1-held/
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BOC-Zambo destroys P300-M smuggled cigarettes
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) here, together with partner agencies, on Wednesday destroyed more than 8,000 master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth PHP300 million.
The cigarettes were stacked, drenched by firetrucks, and crushed with the use of heavy equipment in front of the BOC-rented warehouse in Barangay Baliwasan.
After crushing, the cigarettes were disposed at the sanitary landfill.
“These cigarettes were seized in separate anti-smuggling operations in Zamboanga Peninsula and BaSulTa (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) from May to November this year,” BOC-Zamboanga District Collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte Jr. said in an interview.
Barte said the destruction of the contraband serves as a warning that they are serious in the campaign against smuggling.
“The smugglers often declare their cargoes during anti-smuggling operations or Customs checkpoint as sacks of dried fish or fishes with other prime commodities or junk foods inside iceboxes,” he added.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1162810
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CBP seizes $30 million shipment of fake handbags and clothing ahead of holidays
US customs officers have seized a container filled with more than $30 million worth of fake designer bags and clothing at a Los Angeles port ahead of the holiday season, US Customs and Border Protection officials said.
CBP officers found bags, shirts and pants bearing counterfeit logos including Gucci and Louis Vuitton at the Los Angeles Seaport on November 9, the CPB said in a statement released December 2.
The container of 13,586 items had been shipped from China and would have had a combined estimated recommended retail price of $30,437,775, it said.
The CBP said that counterfeit goods had historically been sold in underground outlets and on illegitimate websites.
“The rise of e-commerce offers a haven for criminals who are now able to hide behind seemingly legitimate listings on well-known websites. The sale of counterfeit commodities multiplies the illegal profits of smugglers and traffickers who reinvest the proceeds from such sales into further criminal enterprises,” it said in its statement.
The agency’s Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, Carlos C. Martel, said that “substantial law enforcement resources” were deployed to keep fake goods out of US supply chains.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/05/us/cbp-counterfeit-handbag-seizure/index.html
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Delhi: Customs seizes 2,800 kg Pak-origin cosmetics sent via UAE to evade Rs 1.2 cr duty
The Delhi Customs has seized around 2,800 kg of Pakistani-origin cosmetic products which were routed through Abu Dhabi and shown as household items to evade customs duty to the tune of around Rs 1.2 crore.
“Acting on specific intelligence, officers of Air Cargo Export Commissionerate intercepted an import consignment at New Courier Terminal on November 29. For smuggling the goods and to evade detection, 87 unique names and addresses of consignees across the country were used. However, the goods in all the bags were found to be similar. The matter is under investigation to find out the real evader who is suspected to have used different names and addresses of the ghost recipients,” a senior official said.
An officer said a lot of 87 consignments had arrived by flight from Abu Dhabi. “After examination, 84 consignments were found to contain cosmetics of Pakistani origin, while three consignments were of perfume concentrate from Bahrain. As per rules, any imported goods originating from Pakistan attract basic customs duty at the rate of 200% of the value of the goods. The goods were attempted to be cleared through courier mode by mis-declaring the origin and description of goods, and its value to evade the applicable customs duty and IGST,” the officer said.
Lear MoreAssam Rifles seizes foreign-origin cigarettes worth Rs 70 lakh in Mizoram
The Serchhip Battalion of Assam Rifles in a joint operation seized 53 cases and 47 loose packets of V- Valiant Mild cigarettes (foreign origin cigarettes) worth Rs 70, 12,200 at Tlangsam Mizoram’s Champhai district on Wednesday.
Acting on specific information, troops of Assam Rifles along with Customs Dept officials carried out a joint operation, AR said in a statement.
The approximate cost of the recovered foreign-origin cigarettes is Rs 70, 12,200.
The recovered items have been handed over to the Customs Preventive Force in Champhai district for further legal proceedings.
Ongoing smuggling of foreign-origin cigarettes is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram, especially along the India-Myanmar border, said an Assam Rifles official.
Lear MoreFake Cartier watches and Gucci sunglasses among £500,000 haul seized in Bury New Road raids
Fake Cartier watches, Gucci sunglasses and Moncler jackets were seized in raids in Manchester’s “Counterfeit Street”.
Police searched premises in Bury New Road, Strangeways, as part of a huge week-long operation in the area and recovered goods worth half a million pounds.
A crackdown into the sale of counterfeit goods and illicit prescription drugs, saw officers from GMP, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, and Manchester City Council execute warrants at two properties.
This week a Manchester Evening News investigation revealed how easy it was to buy prescription drugs in the area.
Within two minutes of arriving there a reporter was offered pregabalin, normally used to treat nerve damage, epilepsy, and anxiety, but now rife on the streets and used by rough sleepers and addicts.
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Gang who smuggled 117 million illegal cigarettes into UK and sent huge bundles of cash to ‘Big Boss’ exposed by EncroChat hack
A gang who smuggled more than 117 million illegal cigarettes into the UK and cheated the taxman out of £36million were caught out by the EncroChat hack.
The Rochdale-based gang smuggled the illicit cigarettes into the country on a ‘massive scale’, hiding them in lorries.
They also sent millions of pounds worth of cash – from selling the cigarettes – out of the UK in the same way to Poland to a mysterious figure referred to as ‘Big Boss’.
Hazhar Mohammad-Pani, 31, and Hubert Smolarek, 41, were both jailed for more than seven years.
“Although quite short lived, the offending in this case was on a massive scale and it was highly sophisticated,” Judge Nicholas Dean QC told the pair at Manchester Crown Court.
“EncroChat phones, while they are not illegal, have no use other than to criminals who operate at a very high level indeed, as was occurring in the case of Mr Smolarek and Mr Mohammad-Pani.”
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