Illegal liquor distillery busted in Patiala, Congress sarpanch, MLA’s aide booked
The accused were bottling liquor in Royal Stag, Masti Malta, Lajawab Sofia and Raseela Santra bottles, which are sought after liquor brands in the region.
An illegal distillery-cum-liquor-bottling plant was busted in Ghanaur, Patiala, the home district of Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. A Congress sarpanch and an MLA’s aide have been booked.
A similar illegal distillery was busted in Khanna in April.
Khanpur Khurd sarpanch Amrik Singh, who is also an aide of Congress MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur; and Dipesh Kumar of Rajpura, who is a confident of Congress MLA Hardial Singh Kamboj have been booked. Others named in the FIR are Harpreet Singh, Bacchi, and Amit Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
Amrik’s wife is a Zila Parishad member, affiliated with the Congress.
Jalalpur admitted that he and MLA Kamboj and knew Dipesh but said they were unaware of his illegal dealings. The factory was raided after the matter came into the notice of top officials of the Punjab government.
Lear MoreDelhi Customs seizes over 5 lakh masks, 952 PPE kits being smuggled to China
The Delhi Customs on Wednesday intercepted a huge amount of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits, masks, raw material, and sanitisers which were being smuggled to China, officials said.
Amid the crisis of protective kits during the fight against increasing coronavirus cases in India, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on March 19, had banned the export of all ventilators, surgical, disposable (2/3 Ply) masks, and textile raw material for masks and coveralls. Export of Alcohol-based sanitiser was banned by DGFT on April 7.
According to officials, on the basis of intelligence, Air Cargo, Delhi Customs intercepted multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser in 950 bottles, and 952 PPE kits at the courier terminal, New Delhi. It was being smuggled out of the country.
The department has also seized 2,480 kg of raw material for masks which was being smuggled to China.
“The goods were declared as packing materials for pouches and were being smuggled to China. These goods are prohibited for export as per the latest DGFT guidelines,” the officer said.
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Port authorities seize, destroy 640,000 smuggled cigarette packs
Port authorities said Wednesday they have seized and destroyed around 640,000 trafficked cigarette packs worth 2.8 billion won (US$2.8 million), marking the largest bust in trafficked cigarettes in the Busan region.
The Busan Main Customs office said they have arrested and forwarded to prosecutors an unidentified suspect for allegedly smuggling in 640,000 South Korean-made cigarette packs exported to Southeast Asian countries.
The cigarettes were purchased in Vietnam and Thailand and shipped to Cambodia before being disguised as luxury travel bags as transshipment cargo bound for China via Busan, according to the customs officials. Authorities said they are in pursuit of an accomplice still at large.
The office said the suspects committed the massive trafficking to capitalize on the substantial price gap between cigarettes for domestic consumption and exports.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/05/251_289462.html
Lear MoreTwo held for gutkha, tobacco smuggling
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted another smuggling racket, where gutkha and tobacco products were being smuggled in vehicles that had permission to ply for supplying essential commodities. The police have arrested two people and seized contraband worth ₹39 lakh from Kandivali.
According to Crime Branch officers, police inspector Chimaji Adhav, in-charge of Unit XI, received a tip-off about the racket and laid a trap at Hindustan Naka on MG Road.
They intercepted an Ashok Leyland truck, which had a pass on its wind shield, allowing it to ply with essential supplies, on Monday. “However, a search revealed that it was carrying 18 jute sacks filled with gutkha and paan masala, worth ₹39.65 lakh,” a Crime Branch officer said.
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wc Police NAB More Suspects For Cigarette Smuggling
CAPE TOWN – There have products.
One suspect was arrested in Cape Town on Tuesday night and another was apprehended at a roadblock in the Garden Route.
In Ottery, the police’s K9 Unit, Crime Intelligence, the Hawks and swooped on a cigarette smuggler following a tip-off.
Authorities had been informed of a consignment coming into the Western Cape from Polokwane. It was heading to Grassy Park. The bust was valued R122,000.
Along the Garden Route, a 30-year-old man was caught with cigarettes worth R200,000.
Police said a Ford bakkie with a load of pineapples approached a roadblock at the Tsitskikama Toll Gate. The driver – travelling from Grahamstown to George – appeared anxious and officers conducted a routine search.
https://ewn.co.za/2020/05/13/wc-police-nab-more-suspects-for-cigarette-smuggling
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TC Gupta to head probe team on liquor smuggling in Haryana
The state government on Monday formed a three-member special enquiry team (SET) to probe liquor smuggling in Haryana, including the Kharkhoda liquor theft case, and appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Power, TC Gupta as its head.
The other members of the panel are ADGP Subhash Yadav and Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner Vijay Singh. Home Minister Anil Vij said the three-member team would submit its report by May 31.
As per terms of reference, the SET will check the actual availability of stocks in all warehouses or godowns that were sealed by the Excise Department during the last two years for any violation.
It will also examine the cases of seizure of illicit liquor in Haryana from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, 0 oth by the Police and Excise Departments separately with special reference to the action taken and fines imposed by the latter pursuant to the recovery of liquor.
Lear More16 detained in gold smuggling case
Customs authorities have detained 16 people in east China’s Fujian Province in connection to a gold smuggling case worth about 820 million yuan (about 116 million U.S. dollars).
The gang illegally exported about three tonnes of gold and related products, according to the administration of customs in Fuzhou, the provincial capital.
Since February 2017, the gang members purchased a large amount of gold in several localities and assembled the gold into audio decoders. After transporting the decoders to Hong Kong, the members dissembled the gold from the decoders and sold it to gold purchasing companies in Hong Kong.
The gang members are also suspected of illegally collecting export tax rebates worth about 120 million yuan.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/11/c_139047171.htm
Lear MoreOfficials tighten vigil against liquor smuggling in kerala
KOCHI: Excise and police departments, which have been fighting illicit liquor rackets during the lockdown, now have a new problem to handle as there has been an inflow of liquor from the neighbouring states forcing them to increase checking and surveillance in the district.
The possibility aroused after Centre allowed opening of liquor outlets but the state delayed opening of outlets even as the neighbouring states went ahead with opening of the outlets immediately. Officers said that liquor purchased in bulk from these states were being sold at exorbitant prices in the district.
Lear MoreCrime Branch busts cigarette, tobacco smuggling racket
Where there is prohibition, black marketing rackets are inevitable. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted a racket where tobacco, cigarettes and paan masala were being smuggled in vehicles that had government permission to transport fruits and vegetables.
According to Crime Branch officials, the lid was blown off the racket after police inspector Sunil Mane, in charge of Unit X, received a tip-off. A Unit X team visited Gajanan Colony in Shivaji Nagar, Govandi on Thursday and searched the area covertly till they located the Tata S Model tempo the informant had specified.
“The tempo had a sticker issued by the government, which permitted it to ply during the lockdown. The sticker said it had permission to transport fruits and vegetables. We spotted two men near the tempo who tried to sneak out as soon as the saw us inspecting it,” a Unit X officer said.
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More counterfeit COVID-19 tests seized in US
Customs and Border Protection officers seized counterfeit COVID-19 test kits at Rochester airport in New York during the inspection of express-consignment shipments.
This is the latest in several shipments that have contained counterfeit test kits that have not been approved by the FDA, according to CBP. There were 25 kits in the latest shipment, but since March officers at Rochester airport have seized more than 600 fake COVID-19 tests.
The FDA has issued emergency use authorisation (EUA) to about 50 companies that are allowed to develop and distribute COVID-19 test kits. However, the companies that created the test kits in these shipments have not been approved to sell them in the US.
In Cincinnati, CBP officers have made 62 seizures, a total of 29,438 kits, with 52 shipments still awaiting FDA review. These kits had a domestic value of $588,760. These seizures contained counterfeit kits, as well as unapproved and prohibited test kits. Some of the larger seizures were seizures of 5,000 kits and then three other seizures of 2,000 kits a piece.
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