Contraband cigarette arrest points to smuggling in the military – Marais
The soldier caught with a haul of apparently illegal cigarettes has again, according to a Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, raised questions about contraband and specifically smuggling of tobacco products by uniformed personnel.
Kobus Marais, who holds the defence and military veterans portfolio in his party’s shadow cabinet, told defenceWeb exclusively he had information about cigarette smuggling in the ranks of soldiers – particularly those deployed on the border protection tasking Operation Corona.
“The Seshego arrest at the weekend is, to me, further confirmation of smuggling activities in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF),” he said, calling the non-commissioned officer’s arrest “an embarrassing act of defiance by soldiers supposed to protect South Africans, the national economy and the integrity of the country”.
Soldiers doing border protection are most likely to have opportunities for smuggling. As part of normal patrol work they encounter smugglers as well as undocumented people. While contraband is supposed to be handed to police and SA Revenue Service (SARS) personnel, Marais maintains this is not always done. Moving illicitly acquired illegal cigarettes can happen by using official vehicles.
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P17-M shipment of fake cigarettes from China seized anew at Port of Manila
A container filled with counterfeit cigarettes from China was uncovered at the Port of Manila Wednesday, the Bureau of Customs said.
Several boxes containing fake Mighty and Marvels cigarettes worth P17.38 million were found in a shipment when Customs agents opened a container consigned to Mvetisery Industrial Supply.
According to the bureau, the shipment, which arrived from China on May 22 at the Port of Manila, was placed on hold and was issued with a Pre-Lodgement Control Order last May 27 after a derogatory information was received by the port from the Customs’ Enforcement Group.
Upon 100-percent physical examination on Wednesday, June 3, the assigned Customs examiner assessed total duties and taxes amounting to P9.96 million.
Warrants of Seizure and Detention against the entire shipment has been ordered by District Collector Arsenia Ilagan for violation of Section 1401 “Unlawful Importation or Exportation” in relation to Section 1113 “Property Subject Seizure and Forfeiture” of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
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Customs conducts inventory of seized machine, counterfeit cigarettes
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) in this city conducted Monday, June 1. an inventory of all seized cigarettes, equipment and materials that the bureau had confiscated recently inside a warehouse in Pagadian City.
Zamboanga City Bureau of Customs District Collector Segundo Barte said the inventory showed the cigarette-making machine alone had an estimated market value of P100 million, while the seized cigarettes tobacco and materials were estimated at P20 million.
“Our estimate of the seized machine and tobacco products to reached P120 million, and this was one of our major accomplishments during the first few months of the year,” Barte said.
He noted: “Our raid to the bodega in Pagadian City strongly send a signal to manufacturer of fake cigarettes to stop their nefarious activities or be jailed for violation of government rules and regulations in the manufacturing of tobacco leaf products.”
Lear MoreMillions of sub-standard face masks seized at Heathrow since pandemic began
Millions of sub-standard face masks and thousands of fake hand sanitisers have been seized at Heathrow since the coronavirus pandemic started.
London Trading Standards said the majority of masks seized had been labelled with false claims or fake safety certificates and around 4.25 million had to undergo label amendments before they were released.
A total of 2.25 million masks were found not to comply with legal safety standards. Trading standards teams examined a further 1.5 million face masks and no issues were found.
Many of the consignments were referred to trading standards by Border Force teams at the airport. The teams also seized 8,000 fake hand sanitisers, branded Andrex and Comfort, at the airport.
Suspicions were raised as they had identical packaging and labelling, except for the brand name, and the same batch code on the entire consignment. Identical fake sanitiser products have been found on sale in Bexley by trading standards officers, officials said.
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Malta seizes over US$1 billion in ‘counterfeit’ Libyan money, says US
Moscow on Saturday (May 30) denied US reports that US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in Libyan money printed in Russia and seized by Maltese authorities was counterfeit.
The US State Department hailed Malta’s announcement about the seizure, saying it was “ordered by an illegitimate parallel entity”.
Russia’s foreign ministry insisted that the notes printed by Joint Stock Company Goznak – a Russian state-owned company – were legal tender.
Friday’s statement from the US State Department, said: “The Central Bank of Libya headquartered in Tripoli is Libya’s only legitimate central bank.
“The influx of counterfeit, Russian-printed Libyan currency in recent years has exacerbated Libya’s economic challenges.”
There was no official statement on Saturday from Valletta, although Malta Today newspaper had published a report about US$1.1 billion in counterfeit money seized in Malta on its Facebook site that was no longer available.
But the statement on Saturday from Russia’s foreign ministry said: “We would like to note that under the conditions of de facto double power in Libya, there are currently two central banks.”
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Fake cigarettes manufactured locally seized in Pagadian City
Counterfeit cigarettes and materials used in manufacturing fake cigarettes were uncovered in a warehouse in Pagadian City during a raid by Customs agents, the Bureau of Customs said Friday, May 29.
Several boxes of cigarettes bearing the brands of Two Moon, Mighty, Union, and Farstar among others were confiscated in a warehouse allegedly used to manufacture fake cigarettes for distribution in Zamboanga Peninsula last May 20.
In a belated report from the Customs bureau, had the boxes of cigarettes went to the market, the locally-made counterfeit cigars would generate around P14 million.
Some materials used in producing the fake products including machines worth P100 million were also found in the warehouse, Port of Zamboanga Acting District Collector Sigmundfreud Barte, Jr. said.
According to Barte, the operation was conducted by the Zamboanga Peninsula inter-agency team composed of the regional offices of Bureau of Customs, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippine Coast Guard, and local police.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/05/29/fake-cigarettes-manufactured-locally-seized-in-pagadian-city/
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Customs foils distribution of P10.1-M smuggled cigarettes in ZamBaSulta area
Hundreds of cases of smuggled cigarettes intended for distribution in the Zamboanga, Basilan, and Sultan Kudarat (Zambasulta) area in Mindanao were intercepted Tuesday when authorities staked out to respond to an intelligence report.
Assorted cigarettes bearing the brands Gundang Baru, Cannon White, Famous, Canyon, Berlin and Fort worth P10,125,000 were seized by a joint team from the Port of Zamboanga, local police, and Joint Task Force Zamboanga in Istanbak, Barangay Lower Calarian, Zamboanga City.
According to the bureau, the seized cigarettes “most likely came from Malaysia or Indonesia” and are intended for distribution in areas in the Zambasulta area.
Following an information that that certain individuals are engaged in cigarette smuggling in Lower Calarian, the joint team trooped to the area to intercept the operation, the Customs bureau furthered.
The seized cigarettes were later turned over to Port of Zamboanga for issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention for violation of Executive Order No. 245 titled Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products and Section 117 of RA 10863 otherwise known as Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
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DRI sleuths seize cigarettes worth Rs 3 crore in Andhra Pradesh
VIJAYAWADA: Sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 29,99,600 foreign brand cigarettes worth Rs 3 crore which are being smuggled to Vijayawada on Sunday. The DRI officials also compounded the vehicle used for transporting the stock.
Acting on a tip-off that ‘PARIS’ brand cigarettes are being illegally transported, the DRI-Vijayawada unit launched an operation and intercepted a container truck bearing registration number RJ11 GB3685 on its way from New Delhi near a godown at P Nainavaram village.
Upon inspection, DRI officials found that the vehicle was loaded with HDPE woven sacks containing goods stitched from the top end where the cigarettes were kept hidden under stainless steelware. When questioned, the driver told officials that the vehicle started from New Delhi with another driver and after reaching Gwalior, he took over the vehicle and drove to Vijayawada as per the instructions of his management.
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Cigarette smugglers caught after high-speed chase in Limpopo
Police continue to crack down on illicit cigarette smugglers and traders as government vows to keep the tobacco ban in place during Level 3 lockdown.
On Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that the prohibition of tobacco products, which was first instituted in late March, would be upheld when the country enters Level 3 lockdown on 1 June.
The cigarette ban, fiercely defended by Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has been widely condemned by South African smokers and tax watchdogs alike. While the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) continues its legal fight to overturn the ban, the burgeoning black market maintains its grip on the cigarette supply chain.
The illicit trade as a result of Disaster Management Act regulations, which has forced 11 million South African smokers to either go cold turkey or engage in criminal activity to feed their nicotine habit, is estimated to cost the economy in excess of R35 million a day. The exorbitant loss of uncollected excise duties has been condemned by economists and civil societies.
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AG to take call on empowering liquor smuggling probe team
Haryana Legal Remembrancer (LR) has returned the file on giving opinion on empowering Special Enquiry Team (SET) invoking Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for taking statements of witnesses. Now, Advocate General BR Mahajan will give his opinion on the matter.
The SET was formed to probe liquor smuggling.
According to Home Minister Anil Vij, the LR has said that the LR office doesn’t give opinion on criminal matters.
“The LR has suggested taking the opinion of either Haryana AG or the Prosecution Department,” said Vij. He added, “Now, the AG will give his opinion.”
When asked about the delay as the deadline (May 31) to give the SET report is approaching, Vij said that still “adequate time is available”.
Earlier, Vij had written to the Home Secretary for empowering SET probing liquor smuggling under Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) immediately so that they could summon and record statements of witnesses.
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