Cops seize over Dh100 million worth of fake goods in UAE.
04, November 2018 | Khaleej Times
More than Dh100 million worth of counterfeit products, which were being sold in the capital, have been seized by the Abu Dhabi Police, authorities announced on Sunday.
The Abu Dhabi Police said the products were in commercial markets. Some of the products were copied from 31 “prestigious” brands. Authorities said that they began their operation from January of this year.
The products included gold, medical devices, various vehicles parts, smoking supplies including electronics, miscellaneous accessories, clothing, perfume, glasses, watches, bags, wallets, and shoes.
Brigadier Mohammed Suhail Al Rashidi, acting director of the Criminal Security Sector of the Abu Dhabi Police explained that seizing the products were conducted by the Economic Crimes Department of the Criminal Investigations Department. He pointed out that the shops were raided after completing all legal procedures and verifying the location of the counterfeit goods.
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5 Bhutanese nationals arrested for smuggling 20 kg gold worth Rs 6.4 crores.
02, November 2018 l India Today
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 20 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 6.4 crores in two separate operations in Delhi.
On October 31, officers of DRI intercepted two passengers arriving by train from West Bengal and seized 10 kg of foreign marked smuggled gold worth Rs 3.13 crores from them. The gold was being smuggled into India from Bhutan and transported to Delhi.
In another operation conducted on the same day, officers of DRI seized 10.2 kg of foreign marked smuggled gold from three passengers arriving by another train from West Bengal.
The gold in both the cases was concealed in specially designed cloth belts worn by the passengers. The seized gold had been smuggled via the land border with neighbouring countries and was being transported to Delhi for sale during the festive season.
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Does Counterfeit Fashion Fund Terrorism?
According to fashion writers and historians, every woman’s wardrobe should contain that versatile “little black dress” (LBD). The origins of the phrase and the simple, yet elegant, black cocktail dress predate that worn by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in the iconic 1960s film Breakfast at Tiffany’s and stretch back in the annals of time to the designs of Coco Chanel and Jean Patou in the 1920s.
As a staple fashion icon, it can be worn with everything to go to anywhere-from the dressy to the dress down. But it can also mean “dressed to kill,” if the LBD in question is a fake? If the sale of such counterfeit fashion was funding another kind of black icon—the black flag of ISIS, or so-called Islamic State.
Would every woman still covet one if the black were tinged red with the blood of innocent civilians or martyred jihadists on the streets of Europe? Would the dress still have its lure and appeal?
There has long been suspicion that counterfeit fashion goods and their sale in the United States and Europe raise millions for what have become cash-rich terrorist causes across the Middle East. The recently recaptured cities of Mosul and Raqqa have given up their grisly secrets of torture and murder in the name of a cause that ruled its so-called “caliphates” with fear and brutal repression and have been bank-rolled in part through the sale of counterfeit fashion—little black numbers, handbags, fake designer sneakers, DVDs, car parts, alcohol, and tobacco.
Recent research converts the anecdotal into the factual for the first time as undercover journalists and researchers have followed the murderous and lucrative trail of the criminal gangs right to the streets of Europe—Paris, Barcelona, and other major cities—to the markets and curbsides where feckless buyers of fake goods hand over their cash.
They, for their part, have no idea—or simply don’t care—that their purchases are putting weapons in the hands of the jihadists who will then turn them on innocent consumers in those same cities where a shopping spree becomes a murderous spree.
https://losspreventionmedia.com/does-counterfeit-fashion-fund-terrorism/
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B42m pirated goods seized at Patong shopping street.
27, October 2018 l Bangkok Post
PHUKET: More than 300,000 items of counterfeit brand-name clothes, accessories and bags worth over 42 million baht have been seized from shops on Soi Bangla, a popular nightlife and shopping street on Patong beach.
Police and officials from several agencies searched shops and vending stalls lining the soi and seized pirated products from 25 of them late Friday night.
The seized products, numbering over 300,000 and bearing luxury brand names, included shirts, shoes, belts, bags, and eyeglasses. The brands included Rayban, Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and others.
The products had estimated market value of some 42 million baht in total, according to the Immigration Bureau’s Facebook page.
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19, October 2018 | Tempo
Various counterfeit items confiscated by the customs agents from warehouses in Quezon City were recently destroyed in Laguna.
Counterfeit cigarettes copying Marlboro, Fortune, Mighty and Winston brands were among the destroyed goods at the facility of Tritek Reverse Logistics Corporation in San Pedro, Laguna – the contractor for the condemnation of the said forfeited goods.
Fake items that were destroyed also include Silka products, Knorr pork and beef cubes, and Knorr Sinigang Mix, Maggi Magic Sarap, Golden bihon. These counterfeit goods were destroyed through crushing, shredding, and rendering.
According to the Enforcement Security Service, the subject infringing goods were estimated to be worth R25 million. The goods were among those intercepted during a raid on warehouses located on Kanlaon Street corner N.S. Amoranto Street, and Malaya Sreet, Quezon City on Nov. 8, 2017.
http://tempo.com.ph/2018/10/19/r25-m-fake-goods-destroyed/
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Fake designer handbags worth RM20,000 seized from shopping mall outlets.
17, October 2018 | New Straits Times
BATU PAHAT: Fake designer handbags worth RM20,000 in an operation on four outlets at a shopping complex on Oct 11.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s (KDNHEP) Batu Pahat branch head Noor Azmi Lamisza said two men and a woman were also detained during the raid. He said the trio were found to have been selling counterfeit items since six months ago.
“Initial investigation revealed that they obtained the supplies of bags from a wholesaler in the national capital who bought the items in foreign countries including China.
“After carrying out surveillance and receiving tip-offs, a 16-man team from the branch, along with trademark owners, raided the premises. “We confiscated a total of 380 bags comprised 197 Long Champ designer bags, Bonia bags (162) and Carlo Rino (21).
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More than 4,800 pieces of counterfeit goods worth over $520,000 seized; 21-year-old man arrested.
15, October 2018 l Straits Times
SINGAPORE – A 21-year-old man was arrested last Thursday (Oct 11) for allegedly importing and possessing counterfeit bags, wallets and watches worth over half a million to sell.
The police and Singapore Customs said in a joint statement on Monday that more than 4,800 pieces of counterfeit goods were seized in relation to the case.
The total street value for the seized goods amounted to more than $520,000. Customs officers had on Oct 4 and 5 found bags suspected to be fakes after inspecting two consignments at a warehouse located in Woodlands Industrial Park.
The items were confiscated after the rights holders confirmed that the items were fakes, said the authorities.
Officers from Singapore Customs and the Criminal Investigation Department then conducted a joint operation last Thursday, in which more than 800 pieces of counterfeit bags were seized from a logistics company located in Woodlands Industrial Park.
Sri Lanka Customs nab three passengers smuggling gold worth Rs. 16 million
11, October 2018 | Colombo Page
Colombo: Sri Lanka Customs officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake in two separate incidents have arrested three Sri Lankan passengers who were attempting to smuggle in gold worth Rs 16 million.
Two of the suspects, arrived on a flight from Singapore last night was in the possession of 10 gold biscuits and two gold pieces. One of the suspects is a woman.
The third passenger, also arrived from Singapore this morning was carrying 14 gold biscuits, the Customs said.
The suspects are residents of Wattala, Kandy and Kotte and the total weight of the gold stock is two and a half kilograms, according to the official.
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_18B/Oct11_1539234366CH.php
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Barnet man sentenced for smuggling over a million cigarettes into the UK.
11, October 2018 | Ealing Times
A man who smuggled more than a million illegal cigarettes into the country in parcels labelled as ‘leather shoes’ has been sentenced.
Ashley Clinton-Carter, 60, of Mill Hill, set up 17 accounts at mailbox delivery outlets in London under the alias of John Bull to smuggle cigarettes into the UK from China.
Clinton-Carter was arrested on February 5 2015 carrying parcels containing 16,800 illicit cigarettes that he had collected from an outlet in Harrow.
During an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), officers found customs declarations for November 2014 to February 2015 which showed the packages should have contained ‘clothes’ or ‘leather shoes’ – A further 251,600 cigarettes were seized.
Another 810,200 cigarettes, addressed to the mailboxes, were seized by Border Force officers at Heathrow and Coventry airports.
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Rotten Apple: $73K, 200 counterfeit Apple products seized.
10, October 2018 l Action News
Police think a New York man could have made nearly $73,000 off counterfeit Apple products before he and more than 200 other fakes were stopped in Delaware.
Citing a Delaware State Police release, The News Journal reports that 33-year-old Alsurymi Abdulrahman was pulled over Saturday for erratically switching into the EZ-Pass lane, and approaching officers could smell marijuana.
Police spotted a large amount of money in his glove box and obtained a warrant. In addition to $72,600, they found 31 lightning USB cables, five sets of earbuds, 110 USB power adapters and 91 iPhone 7 USB lightning cables.
He’s charged with trademark counterfeiting, driving without a license and making an improper lane change. He posted $500 secured bond.
https://6abc.com/rotten-apple-$73k-200-counterfeit-apple-products-seized/4447315/
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