More than 14,000 fake Nikes were seized in LA.
A large shipment of popular retro Nike shoes turned out to be counterfeits.
US Customs and Border Protection officers seized 14,806 pairs of fake Nike shoes that, if genuine, would’ve been worth a total of more than $2 million.
The shoes arrived from China at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in containers marked as “napkins.” What was inside weren’t napkins at all, but instead shoes meant to look like pairs of special-edition Nikes.
Agents found the coveted classic styles of Air Jordan 1 Off-White; Air Jordan 12; Air Jordan 1 in blue, black, red and white; Air Jordan 11 and Air Max ’97.
These shoes are ones people go wild over. Shoe collectors are sometimes willing to pay up to $2,000 for a pair of legitimate ones.
If you’re looking for your next pair, however, you might want to double check before you buy. Customs and Border Protection said consumers are likely to see fake Nikes online.
https://www.koamnewsnow.com/news/world-news/more-than-14000-fake-nikes-were-seized-in-la/1130693850
Lear MoreIllicit Tobacco Taskforce nabs over 600,000 cigarettes in one week.
The Illicit Tobacco Taskforce continues to detect and seize shipments of black market cigarettes attempting to be smuggled across the border.
Between 21-25 September 2019 three separate detections were made in air cargo consignments from South Korea, totalling over 600,000 cigarettes with an estimated evaded duty of more than half a million dollars.
X-ray examinations revealed the cigarettes, which were all addressed to fake business names.
ABF Commander Special Investigations, Susan Black, said the number of detections in such close proximity to each other showed that criminal groups were trying their luck to by-pass border controls.
“All of these consignments were addressed to businesses with misleading names to try and avoid detection by the ABF,” Commander Black said.
“The fact that there were three detections from the same origin in such close proximity to each other indicates that these criminals were hoping that just one of them might slip through”.
https://www.miragenews.com/illicit-tobacco-taskforce-nabs-over-600-000-cigarettes-in-one-week/
Lear MoreP2.4-million worth of smuggled cigarettes intercepted in Zamboanga City.
A wooden vessel loaded with several master cases of smuggled cigarettes worth P2.4 million was intercepted in Zamboanga over the weekend, the Bureau of Customs said Tuesday.
Around 93 master cases of cigarettes were discovered from MJ Champion, a wooden watercraft locally known as “Jungkung”, when it was intercepted by customs agents off Istanbak, Lower Calarian in Zamboanga Saturday.
According to Port of Zamboanga District Collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte, Jr., they received information that an undetermined number of boxes of smuggled cigarettes will be brought to Zamboanga from Jolo, Sulu onboard a wooden watercraft. The shipment was bound for distribution in Magay and Sta. Cruz Public Market in Zamboanga City.
With the information, Barte directed a team from Port of Zamboanga, Philippine Coast Guard, Task Force Aduana, Naval Intelligence and Security Group Western Mindanao, and Naval Special Operations Unit to launch a joint anti-smuggling operation in the waters off Istanbak, Lower Calarian.
A warrant of seizure and detention will be issued against the smuggled cigarettes for violation of Executive Order No. 245, the Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products, and Section 117 of Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), Barte said.
Lear MoreFormer Ridgeland corrections officer pleads guilty to smuggling contraband.
A former Ridgeland corrections officer pleaded guilty in federal court Sept. 19 to reportedly accepting bribes to smuggle contraband and now faces up to five years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Jamal Early pleaded guilty to using an interstate facility to facilitate bribery, a news release said. Early pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to smuggle tobacco and a synthetic narcotic into the Ridgeland prison.
U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon said Sept. 23 that Early, Frank Pridgeon, Miguel Williams, Catherine Prosser, Holly Mitchem, Robert Hill, Ebonynisha Casby and Sharon Johnson Breeland, all former employees of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, have pleaded guilty in federal court to offenses associated with accepting bribes to smuggle contraband into state facilities.
“Those who violate the public trust by taking bribes to smuggle dangerous contraband into our prisons endanger inmates, prison staff and the general public,” Lydon said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners at SCDC will not rest until we have rooted out the corruption in our prison system.”
Lear MoreDelhi: Man smuggling 27 iPhones, 330 branded watches held by customs at IGI Airport.
The Customs Department team of Indira Gandhi Airport, Delhi, held a man for smuggling expensive phones, watches and other goods to foreign countries.
The Delhi airport department confiscated innumerable phones and watches from the accused.
On September 25, the customs department confiscated 330 branded watches, 27 iPhones and other various goods from a passenger, who was coming from Hong Kong.
The total value of seized goods comes to Rs 20 lakh, the Customs authorities said.
The man reportedly revealed to the customs department that from October 2017 to September 2019, he had smuggled items worth several crores.
The accused was arrested in terms of Section 104 of the Custom Act 1962, police said.
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Fake Goods, Smuggling Caused Rs 1.17 Lakh Cr Loss, Cost 16 Lakh Jobs In 2017-18: FICCI Report
Experts believe that if the problem of counterfeiting, smuggling and piracy continue to go unchecked, it could threaten to subvert the economic and societal stability of countries across the world.
Counterfeiting and smuggling have caused a loss of Rs 1.17 lakh crore to the Indian economy in 2017-18 in five key industries — textiles, tobacco products (cigarettes), readymade garments, capital goods (Machinery and Parts), and consumer (Electronics) durables.
The industry body, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), has said in its latest report released at an international conference in Delhi on Thursday.
Titled as ‘Invisible Enemy: Impact of Smuggling on Indian Economy and Employment’, the report further estimates that the total livelihood opportunity lost in these five sectors is about 16.36 lakh in 2017-18.
Capital goods (machinery & parts) industry suffered the most with Rs 52,511 crore loss which rendered 6.12 lakh workers jobless. Consumer (Electronics) durables industry was the second highest with Rs 21,452 crore loss to its business.
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Fake Watch Racket Busted, Mumbai Crime Branch Seizes 1 Cr Worth Goods.
The Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday busted a fake watch racket& has seized over 5,281 fake watches worth Rs 1 crore, three accused have been arrested in the probe.
The Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday, September 23, busted a fake watch racket and has seized over 5,281 fake watches worth Rs 1 crore. The crime branch raided a factory that produced fake watches that imitated branded companies such as Calvin Klien, Movado Swiss, Fastrack. In the raid, they discovered all the materials and spare parts needed to make those fake watches amounting to Rs 20,97,450. The police have reportedly arrested three accused in the matter.
Police investigation report
During their investigation, the police found out that the manufactured fake watches were sent for sale to various street vendors in Mumbai. They discovered the factory based in Sarang street in Kalbadevi, South Mumbai where these types of fake watches were being sold. The police seized fake watches from brands such as Calvin Klein, Fastrack, Fossil, Rolex, Guess, Rado, Hublot, Diesel, Longines, Tag Heuer, Tissot, Cartier worth over Rs 1 crore. The police later arrested the owner of the company and sent him for further investigation.
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CISF Seizes Rs. 71 Lakhs Foreign Currency From Passenger In Mumbai.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on September 19 seized over Rs 71 lakh foreign currency from Ativ Mehta an Indian national at Mumbai Airport.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on September 19 seized over Rs 71 lakh foreign currency from Ativ Mehta an Indian national at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai. Mehta was on his way to Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight from the Terminal 2 of CSMIA, when he was frisked by the officials.
According to reports, during the pre-embarkation check on September 19, a CISF jawan noticed Mehta walking around the airport in a suspicious manner and stopped him at around 8.30 pm. Mehta was frisked and when he was asked to open his bag. Apparently, he panicked and showed reluctance in opening his luggage.
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Punjab: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes without health advisory on the rise
Punjab News: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes in Punjab has become common and pose a serious threat to health of smokers who are getting hooked to catchy packs of international brands.
Chandigarh: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes in Punjab has become common and pose a serious threat to health of smokers who are getting hooked to catchy packs of international brands that are without health warnings, anti-tobacco activists said on Thursday.
They say selling illegal cigarettes, an organised crime, is not only evading state’s high taxes but also playing with the lives of smokers, mainly the first-timers, because of inferior manufacturing processes and low quality tobacco with high levels of tar and nicotine.
Trade insiders told IANS that Punjab alone has an annual legal market of 120 million cigarettes and the illegal market accounts for 20 per cent of the total trade. Chandigarh and Panchkula cities have a market of 30 million and six million cigarettes annually and the illegal market also has a share of 15-20 per cent.
Lear MoreGold worth Rs 32 lakh seized from passenger at Chennai airport.
CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai international airport on Tuesday seized gold worth Rs 32 lakh from a passenger who had concealed it in LED lanterns and digital radio sets.
Mohammad Shah Alam, 29, of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, who arrived here from Riyadh via Colombo in an Srilankan Airlines flight, was intercepted and searched.
Two LED lanterns and one digital radio were found in his baggage. When dismantled, six 10 tola bars and five 5 tolas, weighing 815 grams and valued at Rs 32 lakh, were found concealed inside the battery portion of the two LED lanterns and the digital radio. The passenger was arrested.
Officials said the man had been working as a technician in glass fitting unit in Dehradun. He went to Saudi Arabia in search of job and stayed with his friend. As he could not get any suitable job, he returned to India.
On the day of his travel, his friend handed over two LED lanterns and a digital radio with request to hand them over to his brother who would collect them from his native village. The man said he was unaware of the contents in the LED lanterns and digital radio.