Capacity Building Programme for State Excise Officials on Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling
Focus State: Rajasthan
15 September 2021 | Medium: VIRTUAL
The practice of illicit trade involving counterfeiting and smuggling not only inflict monetary losses on individuals but also damages the national economy, have security implications, and jeopardize consumer’s health. FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) organised a capacity building programme on Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling for the excise officers of Rajasthan on 15th September 2021. The programme was organised to sensitize the officers on the socio-economic impact of illicit and spurious alcohol, facilitate better engagement and cooperation of industry members and excise officers to prevent this menace.
Mr. P C Jha, Advisor FICCI CASCADE and Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs gave an overview on Socio-Economic Impact of Counterfeiting & Smuggling. While highlighting this issue, Mr. Jha said that for every manufactured product there exists a counterfeit in the market and to tackle this problem effective coordination and cooperation among different stakeholders such as government, enforcement agencies, industry, consumers, media is the need of the hour.
Dr. Joga Ram, IAS, Excise Commissioner, Rajasthan State Excise Department, Government of Rajasthan in his keynote address said, “In order to prevent illicit trade of liquor the state of Rajasthan has taken various measures such as introducing excise preventive force to monitor the mobility and smuggling of alcoholic beverages between states; implementing track and trace system where each legal bottle or carton is traced from the place of production till the place of consumption; introduction of Navjeevan Scheme for providing resources of livelihood to people engaged in manufacturing, storing and sale of illicit liquor, etc.”.
The uncertain situation of global crisis in the year 2020 made illicit trade as a matter of serious concern. While the government was committed towards fighting the health crisis, the perpetrators of the illicit trade used this as an opportunity to expand and intensify their operations. Since the onset of the pandemic enforcement agencies have raided and seized smuggled, spurious and counterfeited medicines, healthcare products, cosmetics, electronic goods, alcohols, packaged goods and several other items.
Mr. Deep Chand, IPS (Retd), Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi and Advisor, FICCI CASCADE while addressing the session praised the alert excise authorities of Rajasthan who have raided counterfeit liquor production units and seized huge volumes of spurious liquor during these unprecedented times. “However, with increased number of seizures being reported every day, it is highly possible that the total seizure may just be the tip of the iceberg of a much larger network. Hence, it is extremely important that our enforcement agencies keep up their already impressive work,” he further added.
Capacity building programme organized by FICCI CASCADE is an ongoing exercise that plays an instrumental role in motivating and enabling the law enforcement agencies to understand the gravity of the problem and take requisite actions against the perpetrators.
Assam: Over 1,400 cartons of liquor bottles worth Rs 46 lakh destroyed on court’s order
Over 1,400 cartons of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) bottles worth Rs 46 lakh were destroyed by the Assam government on court’s order in Guwahati.
The IMFL bottles were seized by Bureau of Investigation (BIEO) Assam during a 2017 raid in Guwahati. The liquor bottles were kept in a bonded warehouse at Lalmati area in the capital city of Assam.
The excise department and BIEO on Tuesday destroyed the seized IMFL bottles in presence of a Magistrate.
A top official of BIEO said the agency raided godown premises of a liquor baron located near Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati in 2017 and recovered 1,405 cartons of different brands of IMFL.
“We had registered a case (no 17/2017) in connection with it and filed chargesheet before the court. The court had directed us to destroy the seized liquor bottles on September 14 this year. Following directive of the court, we have destroyed the seized liquor bottles. The market value of the seized liquor is estimated at around Rs 46.21 lakh,” the BIEO official said.
Earlier, the Assam government had destroyed a huge quantity of seized drugs worth Rs 163 crore.
Lear MoreCustoms officers seize $57 million in counterfeit designer watches
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ/Press Release) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Port of Louisville seized 32 separate shipments containing counterfeit designer watches worth $57.84 million.
CBP officers inspected all these parcels to determine if the goods were admissible in accordance with CBP regulations.
The officers found a total of 2,168 designer watches determined to be counterfeit by CBP’s trade experts at the Centers of Excellence and Expertise. All the watches originated from Hong Kong and were destined for several addresses across the U.S.
Two of the more notable seizures were destined for the same business in Flushing, New York.
The first shipment contained 958 counterfeit Rolex watches that would have been worth $8.4 million, while the second shipment contained 1,000 more counterfeit Rolex watches that could have been worth $40.6 million.
Other seizures included 4 counterfeit Richard Mille watches that, if they were real, would have been worth $766,000 and another shipment contained 93 various counterfeit designer watches worth $3 million.
https://www.wtvq.com/2021/09/13/customs-officers-seize-57-million-in-counterfeit-designer-watches/
Lear MoreCounterfeit products worth Rs 50 lakh seized in raids in Lucknow
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 12 (ANI): Joint teams of the excise, police and industry department conducted raids at three godowns in Lucknow and seized counterfeit products worth Rs 50 lakh.
The raid was conducted on the direction of District Magistrate Lucknow, Abhishek Prakash.
District Excise Officer, Sushil Kumar Mishra informed that under special enforcement drive, acting on input the team of Excise department along with police force and Industry department conducted a sudden raid on three illegal godowns located at Thakurganj Mohalla Lala Bagh police station.
During the raid, the police seized 190 drums of fake diesel and petrol and about 189 empty drums. A total of 525 litres of spirit, 28,000 litres of fake petrol/diesel and 420 litres of fake Mobil and two four-wheelers and four two-wheelers, worth over Rs 50 lakh.
Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/counterfeit-products-worth-rs-50-173349116.html
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Police bust gang involved in cheating people, seize fake notes of Rs 1 crore in Telangana
Telangana’s Rachakonda police seized fake Indian currency notes with a face value of over Rs 1 crore and genuine currency worth Rs 1.3 lakh after busting a gang involved in cheating people on the pretext of exchanging black money. Keesara police Saturday arrested five persons, including a woman, who lured the complainant into a deal and snatched Rs 5 lakh from him by stage-managing a filmy police raid at Shamirpet.
The arrested have been identified as Mohd Azeez alias Azam (35), Mohd Anwar Pasha (38), Taduka Subhash Chandra Bose (41), Marri Nagaraju (28) and Jangam Bhagya Laxmi (40). Police also seized a car and other material from the Karimnagar-based gang. Two other accused are at large.
The mastermind Azeez, a 35-year-old realtor from Karimnagar, and his aides first arranged fake notes of Rs 1 crore. His close associate Bose, who was a film production manager, contacted an art director and printed the currency claiming that the dummy notes were to be used in the shooting of a government advertisement. Another accused Pasha, who used to play small roles in films, arranged a police uniform.
Lear MoreWest Bengal: Police Bust Fake Mobil Oil Racket in Burdwan
A fake Mobil oil racket was busted in West Bengal’s Burdwan district on Friday. The gang, who was operating this racket, was selling the doctored liquid in bottles with the badging of famous brands at high prices. The news has now caused an uproar in the East Bardhaman district. According to sources, the adulterated oil was made by mixing Mobil with various other ingredients. After that, it was put in various containers belonging to famed companies and sold at rates higher than the market prices.
In a similar incident on Tuesday, a factory manufacturing fake mustard oil was discovered in Burdwan. The Enforcement Branch of the East Bardhaman District Police sprung into action after receiving a tip-off from a secret source. A joint team comprising district police officers and members of the Enforcement Branch have confiscated around 130 litres of adulterated oil.
According to the police, the syndicate was operating the illegal trade from the Bankura Mor area of Burdwan. A shop selling petroleum-based products was being used as the centre of the gang’s operations. The police seized 23 1-litre, two 15-litre, four 5-litre and three 10-litre cans. According to sources, the racket was running for several months.
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Delhi: Two Uzbek nationals hide 951 gram gold in mouth, caught by Customs at IGI
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs department seized 951 grams of gold from the oral cavities of two Uzbek nationals on Friday.
The accused were apprehended by officials at Delhi International Airport upon their arrival from Dubai.
“During the search, 951 grams of gold in the form of dentures and a metallic chain were seized from their oral cavity,” customs officials said.
According to sources, both persons were apprehended as they arrived at the airport on a Dubai flight.
Last month, two Uzbek nationals were arrested by Customs officers at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 1 crore.
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Gang arrested for manufacturing and selling counterfeit lifesaving cancer drugs
141 Pack of Spurious Life-Saving Cancer Drugs such as Palbocent-125 mg, Lenvanix-10, Osicent-80 mg, Crizocent-250 mg, and Ibrucent-140, Empty Outer Cartons, One Printing Machine, and one Spurious Drug Manufacturing Machine were recovered after the bust.
At least four persons were arrested on Friday for manufacturing and selling counterfeit lifesaving Cancer drugs in Faridabad and Karnal in Haryana.
141 Pack of Spurious Life-Saving Cancer Drugs such as Palbocent-125 mg, Lenvanix-10, Osicent-80 mg, Crizocent-250 mg, and Ibrucent-140, Empty Outer Cartons, One Printing Machine (used for printing of Batch No. Expiry Date, etc. on Drug Carton) and one Spurious Drug Manufacturing Machine were recovered after the bust.
There were some vital secret inputs at Special Investigation Unit – I, Crime Branch, Delhi, regarding the involvement of an interstate gang involved in manufacturing / supplying spurious lifesaving Cancer drugs. These individuals are indulged in inter-State dealings and pan India involvement in manufacturing, supplying spurious, counterfeit life-saving drugs, for long.
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Assam Rifles Seizes Consignment of Foreign Cigarettes Worth Over 97 Lakhs In Mizoram
Guwahati: A massive illegal consignment of foreign cigarettes has been seized by the troopers of Assam Rifles in Mizoram’s Champhai district.
The consignment of foreign cigarettes has been estimated to be worth over Rs 97 lakhs. “The operation was carried out by a joint team of Assam Rifles and customs department Champhai based on specific information,” read a statement from the Assam Rifles.
The statement adds: “Approximate cost of the seized foreign origin cigarettes is Rs. 97,50,000/-. Recovered items handed over to Customs Preventive Force Champhai.” As many as 75 cases of foreign cigarettes were seized in the operation from the Ruantlang area in the Champhai district of Mizoram.
Massive seizures of illegal consignments of foreign cigarettes have been made by the troopers of the Assam Rifles in recent times from the Champhai district of Mizoram.
“Ongoing smuggling of drugs is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram, especially along the India-Myanmar border,” the Assam Rifles said.
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Uttar Pradesh: Gold smugglers held after hot chase by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
LUCKNOW: Two SUVs ferrying smugglers carrying 77 gold bars weighing about nine kg — worth Rs 4.5 crore — headed to Muzaffarnagar picked up speed as soon as they hit the Lucknow-Agra expressway, their occupants unmindful that Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths were tailing them all along from Chaudhary Charan Singh international airport.
Then began a hot chase with DRI sleuths too hitting the gas pedals. The fast and furious pursuit ended with screeching of tyres and the smell of burning rubber floating all around. The smugglers were arrested, and the consignment seized.
After investigation spanning three weeks, DRI Lucknow zone sleuths arrested a 50-year-old havildar in customs posted at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on Tuesday for allegedly helping the smugglers.
“Two passengers had alighted from a Riyadh flight with nine-kilogram gold bars worth Rs 4.5 crore. The 77 bars were hidden in undergarments. The duo was given clearance by the customs staff and allowed a safe exit from the airport. The two then continued their journey ahead to Muzaffarnagar, where the consignment was to be taken,” said DRI sources seeking anonymity.
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