CBP Foils Attempts to Smuggle Over $53 Million Worth of Fake Designer Products
LOS ANGELES— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in coordination with import specialists from the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising (CPMM) and Apparel, Footwear and Textiles (AFT) Centers of Excellence and Expertise seized 39,243 counterfeit designer products arriving in two containerized cargo shipments from China.
CBP partnered with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents to seize the first shipment on July 19, and a second one on July 30, in independent smuggling attempts.
CBP officers discovered sandals, handbags, sneakers, hats, wallets, backpacks, mobile phone cases, and belts bearing numerous registered and recorded trademarks, such as Gucci, Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Yeezy, Versace, Fendi, Balenciaga, Burberry, Chrome Hearts, Nike, Air Jordan, and Ferragamo.
If genuine, the seized merchandise would have had a combined estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $53,745,802.
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Manitoba seizes nearly 10K contraband cigarettes after inspecting 15 Winnipeg stores
WINNIPEG – Manitoba Finance’s special investigations unit (SIU) seized nearly 10,000 contraband cigarettes and 32,000 grams of shisha after conducting compliance inspections at 15 stores across Winnipeg.
Following these inspection, seven establishments and eight people were charged. The SIU seized 9,898 cigarettes and 32,000 grams of shisha, an illegal flavoured water pipe tobacco.
Had these cigarettes been sold, the province could have lost $12,249 in tax revenue.
The province notes that the accused face charges under Manitoba’s Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act. Some of the accused could also face charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.
If those accused are convicted for first-time offences under the provincial tax acts, they could be fined between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or face up to six months in prison. These individuals could also face a triple tax penalty of various amounts.
Lear MorePolice seize 40,000 bottles of Codeine Phosphate syrup worth over Rs 2 crore in Assam’s Karimganj
Assam Police seized a huge quantity of contraband drugs, estimated to be worth over Rs 2 crore, on Sunday at the Churaibari area in Assam’s Karimganj district along the state’s border with Tripura.
According to the reports, police seized a consignment of Codeine Phosphate syrup from a truck. A top police official of the Karimganj district said, “During regular checking, a police team seized 40,000 bottles of Codeine Phosphate cough syrup from a truck at Churaibari area.”
“The truck was heading towards Agartala. The market value of the seized cough syrup bottles is worth over Rs 2 crore,” the police official added.
The contraband drugs were packed in 250 cartons and concealed under 100 cartoons of fruits in the truck. The police arrested the driver of the truck and registered a case.
Reacting on the development, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “#AssamAgainstDrugs Our police is hawk-eyed! On sniffing foul play, @assampolice seized a massive haul of 40,000 bottles of Codeine Phosphate, packed in 250 cartons & concealed under 100 cartons of fruits, in a truck at Karimganj, on way to another state.”
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Businessman jailed for running multi-million pound fake clothes factory in Hockley
Inderjit Sangu, aged 67, from West Bromwich, was caught in possession of thousands of counterfeit labels and clothing items ripping off big-name brands including Moncler, Canada Goose, Nike, Adidas, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Hugo Boss and Lacoste.
A man behind a multi-million pound fake clothes factory has been jailed for four years.
Inderjit Sangu ran an ‘industrial scale’ operation out of his unit in Hockley supplying markets around the country with knock-off items.
The 67-year-old ripped off luxury brands such as Moncler and Canada Goose which sell garments for hundreds of pounds each. He also imitated a host of other big-name retailers including Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Versace, Prada, Givenchy, Lacoste, Nike and Adidas.
When Trading Standards officials raided his unit on Park Road they seized more than 40,000 fake labels, and ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of clothing items with the labels already fitted.
Lear MoreGold worth ₹22 lakh hidden in hairbands, blender seized at Mangaluru airport
Smuggled gold valued at Rs 22 lakh was seized from two passengers who arrived at the Mangaluru airport from Dubai on Sunday.
The gold was confiscated in two separate incidents.
In one incident on Sunday, officials intercepted a passenger hailing from Kasargod, in Kerala, for smuggling gold concealed in the armature portion of a blender along with other personal effects.
Gold of net weight 350.33 gm valued at Rs 16.85 lakh was seized from his possession.
Meanwhile, officials seized 115 gm of gold worth Rs 5.58 lakh from a male passenger hailing from Murdeshwar in Karnataka. The passenger had concealed gold inside the beads of hairbands.
The operation was supervised by Commissioner Imamuddin Ahmad, Joint Commissioner Joaneness George C, and Assistant Commissioner Vasudeva Naik D.
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Fake Tata wire brand products seized in Andhra Pradesh
The Tata Steel intelligence unit along with Andhra Pradesh police seized counterfeit Tata Wiron chain link fences and barbed wires from multiple locations in Nellore district of the southern state on Friday.
Tata Wiron is the brand name for Tata Steel’s global wire business, considered one of the leading steel wire manufacturers in the world. It has manufacturing facilities at Telco in Jamshedpur and in Maharashtra.
“Tata Wiron’s chain link fences and barbed wires are packaged in a unique manner and all original products are sold with the same packaging by authorised dealers and distributors. Upon receiving information that multiple locations in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh were selling Tata Wiron chain link fences and barbed wires in non-standard packaging, Tata Steel with the help of Andhra Pradesh police conducted joint raids in four locations and seized counterfeit chain link fences worth Rs 5 lakh and barbed wires estimated at Rs 1.54 lakh,” said a Tata Steel spokesperson.
The raids were conducted at four locations under Vedayapalem, Venkatachala Satram and Sydapuram police stations in Nellore district.
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Assam Rifles seized foreign cigarettes worth Rs 6.53 crore, arms
AIZAWL: Assam Rifles have seized foreign origin cigarettes worth Rs 6.53 crore and a large cache of firearms from two Mizoram districts adjoining the Myanmar and Bangladesh borders, officials said on Friday. Sources said that 502 boxes of foreign origin cigarettes valued at Rs 6.53 crore were seized at Ruantlang and Kelkang-Khaungleng Road in Champhai district adjoining Myanmar in eastern Mizoram on Thursday. Three people were arrested.
The operation was jointly carried out by Assam Rifles and the Customs Preventive Force. In another raid, the Central paramilitary troopers along with Mizoram Police on Thursday recovered three pistols, 174 live rounds, three kg explosives, nine detonators and other such stores including Improvised Explosive Devices from a jungle at Hmawngbu village in Lawngtlai district adjoining Myanmar and Bangladesh borders.
Lear MoreCapacity Building Programme for Police Officers on Prevention of Counterfeiting, Smuggling
20/08/2021
FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) organized a capacity building programme on Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling for the police officers of Jammu and Kashmir on 20th August 2021. Dr S. D. Singh IPS, ADGP, Director, Sher-I-Kashmir Police Academy, Udhampur was the chief guest at the programme. During his keynote address he said, “Counterfeiting and smuggling not only poses serious threat to the health and safety of the consumers but also endangers the national security. This problem holds special concern for us as the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which is particularly vulnerable to the ill effects of illicit trade, due to hostile the neighbouring nations”.
Highlighting the issue of smuggled and counterfeit goods in the region, Dr Singh said, that the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir police were committed to curb this menace and have a strong hold on the situation. He further added that in recent times they have seized large quantity of fake sanitizers along with huge consignments of illicit cigarettes, alcohol and FMCG products.
During the session, Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi presented an overview on the socio-economic threat of counterfeiting and smuggling. He explained how the police department, being the primary law enforcement agency in the country, play a significant role in ensuring the protection of legitimate businesses from counterfeiters and smugglers. He shared various international and national case studies, police actions against counterfeiters and smugglers, the set of relevant laws, methods adopted by illicit traders, among others, to sensitize the officers of the magnitude of the menace and highlight their role in the fight against counterfeiters and smugglers.
Some of the key recommendations at the programme included, need for an Inter-ministerial set up for cooperation and coordination to effectively combat smuggling and counterfeiting; expeditious investigation of cases; ensuring prosecution in a time-bound manner; training and capacity building of police officers to investigate such cases; rigorous imprisonment and stringent monetary penalty among others. Moreover, effective coordination between central and state agencies, strengthening domestic manufacturing, addressing the demand and supply gap and rigorous enforcement were also emphasized upon as key elements needed to make a conducive environment, free of illicit markets.
One of FICCI CASCADE’s mandate is capacity building of law enforcement agencies including Police, Customs and Paramilitary Forces. It has worked extensively and intensively in this area organizing training programmes and seminars along with continuous interactions with the law enforcement authorities to emphasize on the importance of continued awareness and seriousness of the impact of counterfeit and smuggled goods. The capacity building programme in the Sher-I-Kashmir Police Academy, Udhampur sensitized over 100 officers on the growing dimensions of illicit trade activities through smuggling and counterfeiting detrimental for economy, public health, genuine producers as well as customers.
Mr. Rajesh Sharma, Co-chair, FICCI Jammu & Kashmir State Council and CEO, Skipper Overseas Ltd, in his concluding address, said that India’s economy and public safety continued to suffer from the ill effects of widespread smuggling and counterfeiting, Therefore, arresting this menace is vital. He urged the support of all the stakeholders, especially the police force in thwarting this threat to the nation.
Foreign cigarettes worth ₹6.5 cr. seized in Mizoram
In a major recovery of smuggled items in Mizoram this year, the Assam Rifles has seized 502 cases of foreign origin cigarettes in Champhai district with an estimated market value of ₹6.5 crore. In another incident, a major haul of arms and ammunition was made in Lawngtlai district.
The Serchhip Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles, under the aegis of the Headquarters Inspector General Assam Rifles (East), seized 502 cases of foreign origin cigarettes in general area Ruantlang and Kelkang- Khaungleng Road in Champhai on Thursday, a statement from the Assam Rifles said. The operation was carried out by a joint team of the Assam Rifles and the Customs department, Champhai, based on specific information, it stated.
Three persons were detained and handed over to the Customs for legal proceedings along with the recovered items. Smuggling is a major concern in Mizoram given the porous border with Myanmar.
Lear MoreHyderabad police busts fake currency printing gang, Rs 16 lakh seized
The City police on Thursday busted a fake currency printing gang and arrested five persons including two students and a border security force constable in connection with the case. They seized the fake currency of Rs 16 lakh from them.
The arrested were identified as C Santosh Kumar (29) a photographer, J Sai Kumar (24), who is into courier business, two students – Dharmaji Neeraj Kumar (21), and Jaligam Ram (20), 102 Battalion of BSF constable Sunkari Srinivas (31), a native of Siddipet.
Announcing the arrests of five people in fake currency printing racket, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that the arrested persons were printing the currency at a house in Siddipet using a laptop and photocopier.
Anjani Kumar said that Santosh Kumar, prime accused in the case began printing and circulating fake currency using his laptop and printer. “They scanned original Rs 500 notes and later cut it into the usual size before packing in bundles. Later, they used to supply to people in ratio 1:3 in the market,” he added.
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