Driver tried to smuggle ten million cigarettes into Hull disguised as frozen chickens.
A lorry driver caught smuggling almost ten million illegal cigarettes disguised as frozen chickens into Hull has been jailed. Robert Januszewski, 48, of Poland, has been sentenced to four years in prison for trying to smuggle the cigarettes worth more than £2.5m in unpaid duty taxes through The Port of Hull. Januszewski was stopped by Border Force officers as he entered Hull from Europort in Rotterdam, Holland, on February 6 last year. His paperwork said he was transporting a load of frozen chickens to an address in Leeds. But when officers searched the refrigerated trailer, they found boxes filled with 9,686,800 Richmond cigarettes. Januszewski claimed he did not know about the cigarettes, which were seized by Border Force. The case was passed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for investigation over claims £2,621,808 duty had not been paid.
Lear MoreFake goods haul in 2018 at record high of P23.6 billion.
The government captured P23.6 billion of pirated and counterfeit goods last year—an all-time-high record—on the back of strong police operations against fake cigarettes and alcohol. The total haul of the interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) in 2018 increased nearly 188 percent to P23.6 billion, from P8.2 billion in 2017. According to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), this was the best performance of the NCIPR since it was formed in 2008. Confiscated fake cigarettes and alcohol amounted to P20.25 billion and P3 million, respectively, and accounted for the lion’s share or almost 86 percent of the total haul. Further, authorities captured P1.2 billion worth of counterfeit pharmaceutical and personal-care items, as well as knockoff handbags and wallets valued at P821 million. They were also able to seize P790 million of pirated optical media.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/01/fake-goods-haul-in-2018-at-record-high-of-p23-6-billion/
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HK customs confiscates US$1.4 million worth of fake goods.
Customs officers arrested five people on Sunday during a raid for counterfeit goods in Kowloon’s Sham Shui Po and seized 18,000 items worth HK$11 million (US$1.4 million). About 50 officers raided a showroom and two storages at a commercial building in Sham Shui Po and confiscated 18,000 items, including handbags, wallets and sports shoes, Apple Daily reported. The daily Must-reads from across Asia – directly to your inbox Officers arrested one man and four women on the spot, including a Hong Kong man and two Hong Kong women, who they said were the syndicate heads, as well as two foreign women who worked as salespersons. They were said to be former domestic workers but had overstayed in the city.
Customs said the quality of the fake goods was poor. They added that the syndicate sold the fake goods for between HK$50 and HK$1,300.
https://menafn.com/1098045121/HK-customs-confiscates-US14-million-worth-of-fake-goods
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17 arrested for allegedly smuggling 3,740 cartons of contraband cigarettes.
Seventeen men were arrested for allegedly smuggling more than 3,700 cartons of contraband cigarettes via Sungei Jurong last Saturday . In a joint statement yesterday, the police and Singapore Customs said the 14 Indonesians and three Singaporeans had evaded duty and goods and services tax (GST) totalling about $396,200 and $28,820 respectively. The men, aged between 22 and 48, had allegedly tried to smuggle a total of 3,740 cartons and 448 packets of contraband cigarettes. The contraband cigarettes, two foreign-registered supply vehicles and two Singapore-registered vehicles were seized. Singapore Customs is investigating the case.
Lear MoreDh20,000 fine: Abu Dhabi busts fake makeup in malls.
Abu Dhabi: Authorities are cracking down against fake cosmetics in shopping centres across the emirate, seizing 2,523 products within January. The Abu Dhabi Economic Department carried out the inspection campaign in coordination with owners of the trademarks in a bid to combat counterfeit products and to preserve intellectual property rights. According to the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, shops that distribute and sell fake products are liable to a fine ranging between Dh500 and Dh20,000. A recent study published by Global Online Shopping Survey earlier in January revealed that about 30 per cent of consumers unknowingly buying fake goods when making online purchases.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/dh20000-fine-abu-dhabi-busts-fake-makeup-in-malls-1.1548677545929
Lear MoreJet Airways Technician Among 3 Arrested For Smuggling Gold at Delhi Airport.
A Jet Airways crew member was among three men arrested by customs officials in two separate cases of gold smuggling at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, according to an official statement issued on Friday. The customs department said that a Jet Airways technician was found carrying four gold bars– weighing 1.3 kg and valued at Rs. 43.36 lakh– in the pocket of his trouser. The accused told the officials that a person outside Delhi’s Aerocity Metro Station was waiting to collect the consignment. A team of customs officials then arrested the receiver of the gold bars from outside the Aerocity metro station near the airport, a statement said. “The officers were trying to catch the person who may have brought gold and handed it over to the Jet Airways technician,” a senior customs official added.
Lear MoreSmuggled cigarettes seized in city.
GUWAHATI: City police have seized nine cartons of foreign-made cigarettes worth several lakhs while the consignment was being allegedly smuggled to Delhi. The seizure was made in Boragaon area here. Three persons, including one person from New Delhi and another person from Tripura, were nabbed for allegedly trying to smuggle the consignment. Sources said the cigarettes had been brought from Myanmar.
“Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths nabbed the trio with the illegal items in the city while they were on their way from an interstate bus terminus to Kamakhya railway station, from where they were supposed to smuggle the cigarettes to New Delhi,” said city police sources. The nabbed persons have been identified as Srimanta Das of Guwahati, Anurag Chandil of Delhi and Chaibon Das of Tripura.
“As these cigarettes are not duty-paid and many brands have price tags in foreign languages, traders make quite a profit,” sources added.
Lear MoreChinese man found guilty smuggling 420 cartons cigarettes.
A Chinese businessman has been found guilty of smuggling contraband cigarettes valued at K4.18 million.
The Waigani District Court last Friday heard last Friday that Lin Zhong, from Fujian province of China, is the managing director of Zhong Ren Limited who operates his business at the Nine-Mile Plaza in Port Moresby.
Zhong appeared before magistrate Cosmas Bidar with his interpreter, also Chinese, to translate English to Mandarin (Chinese) language when his charge was read to him.
He denied any knowledge of the illegal item and stated he only followed on to where the shipping container was because a Chinese man (unidentified) wanted to borrow his vehicle. Following persistent questioning by magistrate Bidar, Zhong admitted that he was among other Chinese men together with some locals who were loading boxes of smuggled cigarettes onto his vehicle when PNG Customs officials intervened last September 7.
https://postcourier.com.pg/chinese-man-found-guilty-smuggling-420-cartons-cigarettes/
Lear MoreSeven million cigarettes smuggling duo jailed.
A Barnsley man and a convicted tobacco fraudster have been jailed after seven million illegal cigarettes were discovered in a storage unit.
Russell King, 56, of The Green, Barnsley, and James Duffy, 48, of Dundalk, Ireland, illegally imported cigarettes into the UK worth £2,001,292 in unpaid duty, an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed.
The plot was masterminded by Duffy, who arranged the smuggling and delivery of the illegal goods. He was handed a six-year prison sentence earlier in the year for his role in another £2 million tobacco smuggling conspiracy.
His right-hand man King was caught red-handed with the cigarettes by HMRC officers at a storage unit on Sandybridge Lane Industrial Estate, Barnsley, in June 2016. Investigators discovered seven million non-UK duty paid cigarettes packed in cardboard boxes.
https://sheffield.bigstamp.uk/seven-million-cigarettes-smuggling-duo-jailed/
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Irishman sentenced in UK for illegally importing cigarettes.
An Irishman who was convicted of illegally importing cigarettes into the UK has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
James Duffy, 48, Greyacre Road, Castletown, Dundalk, Co Louth, admitted excise fraud at Leeds Crown Court in October 2018 and was sentenced today.
A British man, who was described by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as Duffy’s right hand man, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for his part in the operation.
Russell King, 56, of Royston, Barnsley, England, was caught by HMRC officers with the cigarettes at a storage unit in an industrial estate in Barnsley in June 2016.
Investigators discovered seven million non-UK duty paid cigarettes packed in cardboard boxes.
The court heard that the plot was masterminded by Duffy, who arranged the smuggling and delivery of the illegal goods.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/0118/1024133-cigarette-fraud/
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