Huge cache of premium liquor seized in village near Ranchi.
Ranchi police on Thursday seized a huge cache of India made foreign liquor (IMFL), which peddlers were planning to smuggle to neighbouring Bihar, a state where manufacture, sale and consumption of liquor is prohibited.
A team from Pithoria police station seized the consignment from an abandoned building in Oena village, around 30 km from here, in the wee hours of Thursday and nabbed four peddlers, who confessed to smuggling liquor to Bihar, police said.
“We are still calculating the quantity of liquor. It comprised bottles of premium and expensive brands, which would have been smuggled to Bihar for sale in the black market,” said Ranchi SSP S.K. Jha.
Tests were on to determine whether the liquor in the bottles was genuine, mixed with local brands or illicit.
But Jha said the catch was crucial as it would lead police to people who were involved in bottling liquor in Ranchi and other parts of Jharkhand. “We have to understand the gravity of the matter. Illicit liquor poses major health risks to consumers,” he said.
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$1.6 million in illegal cigarettes seized.
Over $1.6 million of illegal tobacco has been seized and taken off the streets by local police.
On July 5, members of the Dryden OPP were conducting traffic enforcement duties on Highway 17 east of Dryden, when they stopped and investigated two vehicles.
Between the two vehicles, police found and seized 386 cases of illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of $1.6 million.
Contraband tobacco seizures in the Dryden area on April 30, May 10, May 16, May 26 and June 3 seized over $1.3 million worth of illegal cigarettes heading to Manitoba and other western provinces, says the OPP.
The Government of Ontario’s Ernst and Yount Report commissioned in the fall of 2018 found that the government is losing over $750 million in province excise tax to the illicit trade, combined with the federal excise tax losses, the total is over $1 billion.
https://www.drydennow.com/local/1-6-million-in-illegal-cigarettes-seized
Lear MoreUttarakhand: Three held with counterfeit notes
PITHORAGARH: Champawat police arrested three persons with counterfeit currency and printing equipment on Wednesday. Fake currency with the face value of Rs 4 lakh was seized from their possession. These persons circulated the money in rural pockets.
Superintendent of police (SP) Lokeshwar Singh said, “Police, on a tipoff, checked a bike at Manihargod locality of Tanakpur police station on Wednesday evening and intercepted two persons.
On searching, they recovered counterfeit currency with face value of Rs 4 lakh.” “The accused were identified as Vrij Kishor, resident of Amaria village and Riyaz, resident of Balia village, of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh,” the SP said.
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Smuggled foreign cigarettes seized in Hyderabad, five held.
Smuggled foreign cigarettes valued at ₹ 1.03 crore were seized by Hyderabad city police on Friday. The contraband was concealed in 503 cartons.
Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of the Commissioner’s Task Force (North Zone) intercepted a goods vehicle near Rishab Agency in Siddiamber Bazar and found huge quantities of foreign cigarettes, which were smuggled into the city.
The team led by inspector K Nageswar Rao apprehended five persons — Vipul Ranka, Jagadish Kumar, Doongarchand Shrishrimal, Pavan Kumar Perthani and M.A Haneef —, who were illegally importing the cigarettes from Delhi via Sarna Transport without valid invoice, delivery challan or even GST invoice. They were selling the contraband to pan shops, kirana shops and petty vendors in around Hyderabad.
Police said Vipul Ranka, hailing from Rajasthan, had migrated to Hyderabad a few years ago. He ran tailoring and Agarbatti material business at Begum Bazaar and was illegally procuring and selling foreign cigarettes.
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P93-M smuggled cigarettes seized at Port of Subic.
MANILA, Philippines — Smuggled cigarettes worth an estimated P93 million were seized at the Port of Subic, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported Friday.
BOC said that on Wednesday, July 1, it seized, through the District Collection Port of Subic, three 40-foot containers containing the smuggled cigarettes, which were declared as LED lights.
The smuggled cigarettes were discovered after the containers went through X-ray and physical examination. Some 3,100 master cases of cigarettes were seized, BOC said.
District Collector Maritess T. Martin issued a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) against the shipment while the consignee is now subject to further investigation for the possible violation of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Board Resolution No. 079-2005, NTA Memorandum Circular No. 03, Series of 2004, in relation to sec. 1113 (f) of RA 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1301175/p93-m-smuggled-cigarettes-seized-at-port-of-subic
Lear MoreGold smuggling racket busted in Kochi: Role of film stars suspected
An incident that came to light as a one-off crime report last week in Kochi has snowballed into a major criminal case with international ramifications. Some of the prominent Malayalam film stars are being used as couriers to smuggle in gold from West Asian countries to various groups including terrorist gangs, if the reports coming out of Ernakulam Police Station are any indication.
It all started with Shamna Kasim, an upcoming film artist complaining to the Police that a group of people who had approached her parents with marriage proposal were hatching a plan to kidnap her with the intention to ask for ransom money.
Shamna’s mother filed a police case against five persons who had approached the family with a marriage proposal. The group had furnished fake identities about the youth and his family. This was followed by the group calling on Shamna’s parents at her Kochi home. Their dubious behaviour aroused suspicion in the minds of her parents who filed a complaint.
The police arrested all the five youth mentioned in the complaint and took into custody five more persons who are said to be their associates. It turned out that they were members of a major racket specialising in gold smuggling, blackmailing and flesh trade. On interrogation, the youth disclosed that they were in contact with many more film personalities.
Lear MoreR4 million cigarette smuggling racket busted.
Smuggling of cigarettes from Zimbabwe into South Africa through illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River, always a problem because of the tax differences, increased dramatically from the beginning of April when South African lockdown regulations banned cigarette sales.
Authorities estimate that around 30 percent of cigarettes sold in South Africa are smuggled from Zimbabwe including Pacific, Remington gold, Mega, Dullahs, Branson and Servilles brands.
This has been a problem for some time because the South African Customs Union taxes tobacco at much higher rates than Zimbabwe, opening arbitrage possibilities for smugglers.
The ban on tobacco sales under the South African lockdown just made supplying the black market even more profitable, so more people became involved. But a crackdown on both sides of the border has seen more than 30 people arrested in the last fortnight, and the seizure of cigarettes worth an estimated R4 million.
https://www.herald.co.zw/r4-million-cigarette-smuggling-racket-busted/
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Huge consignment of liquor seized; one arrested
Mahasamund Police on Tuesday caught a man with 100 boxes of liquor worth Rs 5 lakh smuggled from Madhya Pradesh. Police also seized a Fortuner SUV and one SX4 car. Superintendent of Police Prafulla Kumar Thakur had directed the subordinate officials to keep an eye out for the liquor smuggled from other states. On his direction, ASP Megha Temburkar Sahu heightened up the vigil.
In the meantime, SP Mahasamund received an intelligence report about a large consignment of liquor from other State to Mahasamund. On the direction of ASP and SDO Police Mahasamund Narad Kumar Suryawanshi, City Kotwali Sher Singh Bande formed a team and on the night of June 29 Kotwali team set up picket points at every entry point to Mahasamund. At around 10 pm, a team at Ghodari Bridge learned about two suspected vehicles heading Mahasamund. A barricade were set-up at Belsonda Railway cross to stop these vehicles from safety point of view as seen in past that the smugglers don’t shy away from running over the police personnel.
Since the railway cross has a sharp turn, vehicles have to slow down at this barricading, and as the Fortuner car CG-04-HE-0003 was stopped, police surrounded it. Second vehicle, a SX4 attempted to escape by taking U-turn, but police grabbed them too. However, driver managed to flee from the spot taking advantage of the darkness.
https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2020/7/1/Huge-consignment-of-liquor-seized-one-arrested.html
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CBP San Juan seizes 560 sets of counterfeit Apple AirPods.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations announced Thursday the seizure of 560 sets of fake Apple AirPods imported into Puerto Rico from Hong Kong via air courier. Had these goods been genuine, the estimated manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods would have been an approximately $111,440.
“This product is sought by consumers because of its convenience to operate a phone or computer,” indicated Leida Colon, Assistant Director of Field Operations for Trade. “Unfortunately, counterfeits like this do not withstand the use that consumers expect.”
Most of the seizures of counterfeit products in the San Juan Field Office are jewelry, footwear, clothing, and prescription drugs. The main source countries for most of these items are Hong Kong and China.
Recently, the San Juan Field Office also seized jewelry and watches, and 844 counterfeit alloy wheels.
The sale of counterfeit goods robs legitimate businesses of revenue, takes jobs from American workers, and poses health and safety threats to U.S. consumers. The proceeds from counterfeit merchandise sales often supports other nefarious and illicit businesses.
https://ajot.com/news/cbp-san-juan-seizes-560-sets-of-counterfeit-apple-airpods
Lear MorePolice seize North Korean-made clothing in Liaoning Province
Chinese police recently seized a large amount of clothing produced in a North Korean textile factory and smuggled into China’s Liaoning Province, Daily NK has learned.
“Early last month, clothing produced in the Unha Textile Factory was delivered to a trader in China’s Liaoning Province,” a source based in China told Daily NK on June 18. “The trader who received the clothing was arrested by the police and all of the clothing was confiscated.”
sNorth Korea is prohibited from exporting textile products (any fabric or clothing, including partial or finished goods) under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2375. The seizure of the clothing may be part of China’s attempts to adhere to the UN resolution.
According to the source, the total value of the seized clothing was approximately RMB 20 million (around USD 2,816,749).
The Unha Textile Factory was likely desperate to sell off its stock and recklessly attempted to smuggle the clothes into China, the source speculated.
https://www.dailynk.com/english/police-seize-north-korean-made-clothing-liaoning-province/
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