Capacity Building Programme for Police Officers on Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling

Focus State: Tamil Nadu

FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) organized a Capacity Building Programme for Police Officers of Tamil Nadu on “Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling” at Tamil Nadu Police Academy, Chennai on 31st May 2022. The capacity building programme was organized with an aim to sensitize the police officers on the importance of continued awareness and seriousness of the impact of counterfeit and smuggled goods.

Dr. A Amalraj, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu & Director, Tamil Nadu Police Academy was the chief guest at the programme. Dr Amalraj while highlighting the menace of illicit goods said that such products are not only harmful for consumers but also incur huge losses to the government exchequer. He also emphasized on the need for such training programmes, which not only sensitizes the officers on the magnitude of the problem but also help them to understand the intricacies of smuggling and counterfeiting. He added that “Police is directly involved in stopping the circulation of illicit goods in the society.”

While giving an overview on Socio-Economic Impact of Counterfeiting and Smuggling, Mr Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi said, “Capacity building in terms of skill, infrastructure and technology is essential for the law enforcement agencies in improving the detection and investigation mechanism of crimes relating to counterfeiting and smuggling.” Sharing data from a recent study by FICCI CASCADE, Mr Chand said, in the FY 2018-19 Indian economy saw a loss of Rs.1,17,253 crore and loss of 16.36 livelihood opportunities due to smuggling in five key sectors.

Mr Pradeep Dixit, Vice President, Industry Affairs, ITC Ltd mentioned that proceeds from the sale of counterfeit, smuggled and contraband products contribute to the funding of criminal activities all across the globe. It is vital that industry and enforcement officers work in close collaboration to address this mounting hazard.

Mr Nitin Saluja, Senior Policy Manager, Customer Trust, Amazon India discussed about Amazon’s efforts in mitigating fraud and abuse on marketplaces that hamper customers trust and how Amazon via its various initiatives puts in enormous resources to deliver on its established tenets and to make its marketplace a reliable and safe platform for customers, brands, and sellers to conduct transactions. He stated that amazon is committed to promoting and participating in the efforts for ensuring that the consumers are empowered to enjoy the benefits of online shopping while being protected from the risks, the digital era may present.

Mr. Ashish Sawant, Assistant Manager, Global Brand Protection, APAC Region, Johnson & Johnson emphasized that misspellings, font or print format differences, unprofessional looking packaging, poor print quality, holograms that appear as foil stickers are the major clues to identify illicit products.

Dr. R. Sivakumar, IPS, Deputy Director, Tamil Nadu Police Academy proposed vote of thanks and stated that significant actions are being taken by the officers continuously to put down the illicit trade activities posing serious risk to public health and safety.

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.