Covid crisis boosts India’s trade in fake medicines
As India is engulfed by a second wave of coronavirus infections, which is swamping big cities, its people have rushed to the black market to buy drugs for treatment. Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups in the capital city of New Delhi buzz with urgent pleas for sellers of everything from oxygen to remdesivir, an antiviral used in India to treat Covid-19.
In Pune, a city in the hard-hit state of Maharashtra, four people were arrested this month for selling fake vials of remdesivir for Rs35,000 ($464), far above the official Rs2,000 ($27) price cap for the genuine product. Police said the men had sold at least seven vials filled with liquid paracetamol to a relative of a coronavirus patient. Further south, in Mysuru, in the state of Karnataka, a nurse at a private hospital was arrested for selling remdesivir vials that had been refilled with antibiotics and saline solution.
“In times like these, where you see high numbers for tocilizumab — an arthritis drug — and remdesivir, this is a ripe area for people to make up this stuff and slap labels on,” says Dinesh Thakur, a former pharma executive who works as a public health activist in the US. An estimated one in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified, according to the World Health Organization.
https://www.ft.com/content/1bb3c839-d796-46f8-a2cd-519122a5908c
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Lucknow Customs Bust Syndicate Using Specially Designed Underwear to Smuggle Gold, Woman Held
Top gold smuggling syndicate, using specially designed undergarments to smuggle gold paste in the country, has been busted. The syndicate had hired women couriers, wearing these special undergarments to smuggle gold in form of paste. One of the key couriers, a 39-year-old woman, was arrested at Lucknow airport on Monday with 1,259 grams of yellow paste, hidden in specially designed brassiere and underpants.
Top sources in Customs (Preventive) unit of Lucknow revealed to IANS that a young woman, originally hailing from Turkman gate, Delhi, travelling from Dubai, landed from flight no FZ 8325 on April 26, 2021. On specific input, she was intercepted while trying to exit from the airport. “When the ladies staff searched her, yellow paste was recovered from the undergarments worn by the courier. The yellow paste, packed in black polythene and stitched in her brassiere was recovered,” revealed a Customs source.
The accused was produced before the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (Customs), Lucknow on April 27, wherein she was remanded to judicial custody.
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CBP Officers in Cincinnati Seize $4.26 Million in Fake Jewelry
CINCINNATI— On April 26, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Cincinnati seized 9,377 pieces of jewelry from a shipment originating in China and destined to an address in McAllen, Texas.
Officers inspected the shipment on March 30 and found thousands of jewelry items bearing protected trademarks from Tiffany, Pandora, Cartier, Bvlgari, Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Rolex, Versace, and Tous. Unprotected “generic” jewelry was comingled in the same box with protected jewelry that was undervalued on the invoice. Officers reached out to CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), and an import specialist determined the jewelry was counterfeit. Had they been genuine, the items would have been worth more than $4.2 million although the declared value was only $119.
“Intellectual property theft harms the U.S. economy and threatens the security, health, and safety of the American people,” said Cincinnati Port Director Richard Gillespie. “Our officers are committed to protecting private industry and consumers and ensuring that legal trade continues to power our economy.”
CBP has established an educational initiative to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that are often associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. Information about the Truth Behind Counterfeits public awareness campaign can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/FakeGoodsRealDangers.
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1,025 cases of smuggled liquor seized
The police made a big haul of smuggled liquor with the seizure of 1,025 cases from a closed-body truck (bearing registration No. HR 38T 4611) which was stopped for checking in the wee hours on Sunday near the Janta Nagar cut on the basis of a tip-off by a police party comprising Inspector Yash Pal Sharma, in-charge, anti-smuggling cell/CIA-3, and ASI Kashmir Singh, along with officials of the Excise Department.
While the driver of the truck and his assistant managed to give the police the slip by taking advantage of the darkness, search of the abandoned truck led to the recovery of 500 cases (each carrying 12 bottles of 750 ml) of McDowell No 1 whisky, 300 cases of McDowell No 1 whisky (each carrying 48 nips of 180 ml), 75 cases (each carrying 12 bottles of 750 ml) of Royal Challenge whisky and 150 cases (each carrying 48 nips of 180 ml) of Royal Challenge whisky.
The police have impounded the truck carrying the illicit liquor and the unidentified accused have been booked under Sections 61, 78(2), 1 and 14 of the Excise Act at the Division No. 6 police station. The police have launched search operations to apprehend the accused who are behind the big racket of liquor smuggling.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/1-025-cases-of-smuggled-liquor-seized-244844
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Kochi: Police seize fake currency worth Rs 1.8 crore, 5 arrested
KOCHI: Kochi city police and the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of the state police seized fake currency to the tune of Rs 1.8 crore from Coimbatore in a joint operation and arrested five people on Thursday. The seizure was made in an operation which began on Wednesday late night and continued through the early hours of Thursday.
According to police, follow-up investigation by Udayamperoor police into the seizure of fake currency amounting to Rs 1.74 lakh on March 27 led the police to the Coimbatore gang.
City police commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said that the inputs from DIG Anup Kuruvila John who heads the ATS of the state police was instrumental in the operation.
The arrested have been identified as Rasheed from Thrissur, Syed Sultan and Ashraf Ali from Coimbatore and two others who were arrested in the early hours of Thursday. With this, the total number of arrested persons in the Udayamperoor fake currency case has risen to nine. Police have also seized scanners and printers from the accused. The seized fake currencies were in the denomination of Rs 2,000.
Senior officers said that the accused had circulated about 90 currencies of Rs 2,000 denomination at various places and the sleuths tracked and seized each one of those bills. The core members of the racket used to provide two Rs 2,000 fake notes to the secondary links for a single original currency note of the same denomination.
Lear MoreIn Conversation with Shri Rakesh Asthana, IPS, Director General, Border Security Force and Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau
23/04/2021
“Smuggling activities generate large amount of money and the money generated is further funnelled into various anti-social activities in our country”, said Mr. Rakesh Asthana, Director General, Border Security Force and Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau. Mr Asthana was speaking at the ‘In Conversation Series’ an initiative of FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) to share insights and deepen understanding on the various facets of illicit trade with subject matter experts. Speaking on the menace of drug smuggling, Mr Asthana said, “according to a recent survey by Govt. of India, it is found that nearly 2.1% of the Indian population is addicted to heroin, and 1.44 lakh crore of illicit revenue is generated every year through it”. He further added that in 2019, the MHA has constituted a 4 tier coordinated mechanism which is a robust system of inter-agency coordination led by DG, Narcotics Control Bureau to address the menace of smuggling.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE in his address said, “In India, since the onset of the pandemic, our paramilitary forces and enforcement agencies have raided and seized smuggled, spurious and counterfeit sanitizers, masks, PPE Kits, toiletries and cosmetics, electronic goods, cigarettes, packaged food, spices, drugs, alcohol and several other items across various states”. Speaking on the increasing number of seizures being reported every day, Mr Rajput said, “it is highly possible that the total seizures may just be the tip of the iceberg of a much larger network. We cannot afford to lower our guard and therefore it is extremely important that our enforcement agencies keep up their already impressive work and ensure that such mischievous elements are kept at bay”.
Mr. Anil Sinha, Former Director, CBI and Think Tank Member, FICCI CASCADE while in conversation with Mr Asthana said, “On one hand, we have a raging pandemic where criminals have used it as an opportunity to increase their nefarious activities, causing significant damage on the economy of the nation, health, and safety of the consumers while on the other hand there is smuggling and how it is funding and terrorism and undermining the security of a nation”. Strengthening of inter-agency coordination and the need for successful prosecution of criminals in smuggling and counterfeiting cases were also highlighted in his discussion with Mr. Asthana.
Border forces face key challenges in preventing illicit trade and disrupting transnational smuggling operations. It is certain that border officers are critical stakeholders in combating cross border illegal trading activities. As border control becomes challenging due to newer forms of cross border crimes it becomes vital that officers at the borders are prepared to identify possible suspects and their victims in such crimes. FICCI CASCADE, has been over the years working closely with government, industry, enforcement officials, legal fraternity, consumer organizations and the youth to create awareness on the adverse impact of the problem of counterfeiting and smuggling. Among other activities, FICCI CASCADE has been regularly engaging with law enforcement agencies including police, customs and paramilitary organizations engaged in border protection in sensitizing them on the gravity of the problem.
Watch the session live at: https://youtu.be/ZWILGPUrc_Qb
Jaipur: Police seize 750 remdesivir injections; arrest 6
JAIPUR: The crime branch has arrested six persons for selling remdesivir injections at Rs 15,000 a piece and seized 750 ampoules from them on Wednesday.
The injections are used for Covid patients in emergency situation. The arrested include medical store owner Jayprakash Verma, three agents — Dalveer Singh, Vikas Mittal, Basant Kumar — and two suppliers — Vickram Gujjar and Shankar Mali. All are residents of Harmada and Murlipura in Jaipur.
Following complaints, policemen in the guise of customers visited 48 medical stores looking for two remdesivir injections in the city. “Jayprakash, who runs a samarth medical store asked for Rs 15,000 per injection. When the deal was agreed, one Dalveer Singh brought two injections to the store. After both were arrested, they said one Vikas Mittal gave it to them following which he was apprehended along with one Basant Kumar,” said Digant Anand, DCP (crime) of Jaipur Police Commissionerate.
Following the chain, Jangid told police that Vickram Gujjar and Shankar Mali are providing these injections in the city. “Jangid and Gujjar said they purchased 725 such injections from Gurugram for selling at a high price in Jaipur. They didn’t have any license to sell any drugs and were taking advantage of the health emergency,” said Anand. The seized injections were sent to the forensic to see if they were real or fake.
The suppliers have tied up with the medical stores and they provide them on-demand in several parts of the city. Police are also probing if they have any connection with the hospital staff.
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14.7 kg of smuggled gold seized at Kochi Port
KOCHI: In a major crackdown, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday seized 14.7 kg of gold from a baggage that arrived at Kochi port. Even though gold seizure from airports is common in Kerala, it was after years of gap that gold was seized from a sea port in state.According to DRI officers, following the seizure, searches were carried out in various locations in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. The seized gold is valued at Rs 7.2 crore which is the highest one this year.
“A Malappuram native booked and sent the shipping cargo from Dubai. The gold was cleverly concealed inside a refrigerator. There were more than 120 gold biscuits. The person who sent the cargo reached Kerala in a flight a few weeks ago. The ship arrived last week. He was in Kochi to receive the cargo. We have taken him into custody and interrogation is on. We are also conducting searches at his residences and places named by him during the interrogation,” sources said.
DRI suspect that the gang involved in gold smuggling had used the sea route earlier. “With gold being seized at airports frequently, the gang switched to ship cargo route. We suspect that they had carried out smuggling in a similar manner before. It is also being investigated whether any Customs officials is involved.
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Man caught trying to sell fake Remdesivir vials in Bengaluru
City Crime Branch (CCB) officials caught a pharma company executive trying to sell fake Remdesivir vials on the road at Shivajinagar, in Bengaluru, last Saturday.
Based on a tip-off, a team raided an eyecare shop on Hospital Road in Shivajinagar and caught Syed Khaja Kaleelulla, 27, and seized five vials from him. He was trying to sell each vial for ₹14,500 in the black market.
Kaleelulla was working with a pharma company in Wilson Garden and claimed that his colleague, identified as Mujeer, had given him the veils to sell, promising him of commission for the sale.
Kaleelulla was later handed over to the Commercial Street police for further investigation, while the CCB officials seized his mobile phone. They are probing further to ascertain the source of the drugs. Meanwhile, the police have continued to track down Mujeer, who is on the run.
The CCB of Mysuru city police unearthed a racket of fake Remdesivir sale.
A special team of the CCB, set up in the wake of growing complaints of black-marketing of Remdesivir injection amid the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, stumbled upon a large quantity of fake Remdesivir medicine in the house of Girsh, a male nurse working with a private hospital, at Vidyanagar, in Nazarbad police limits, on Monday.
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Rs 8-lakh fake currency seized, 1 held
New Delhi: Delhi Police’s Special Cell has seized fake currency with a face value of Rs 8 lakh from a smuggler at Anand Vihar. Due to the pandemic, the Malda-based cartel was trying to pump in fake notes in the denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500.
The consignment originated in Pakistan and was being routed through Bangladesh. The cartel collected it on the Indo-Bangladesh border and brought them to Delhi via train.
According to deputy commissioner of police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Yadav, the smuggler has been identified as Abdul Rahim, a resident of Malda in West Bengal.
He was arrested from near exit gate of Anand Vihar railway station following a tip-off.
“He is a member of Malda-based fake Indian currency notes (FICN) syndicate and has been smuggling FICN from Bangladesh for a long time. For this purpose he has visited Bangladesh several times. Rahim was about to deliver the notes to one of his contacts based in Delhi when he was arrested,” Yadav said.
In 2016, Rahim started a business of ladies suits and used to visit Bangladesh for to purchase these. He met a fake currency supplier there and joined the trade. The supplier bas been identified as Nasruddin. Rahim was initially being paid Rs 3,000 per trip.
Nasruddin used to collect the FICN from smugglers/suppliers based near Indo-Bangladesh border, who smuggled the fake notes from Bangladesh through cross-border smugglers.
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