2 interstate tobacco smugglers held with 150kg contraband
Coimbatore: The food safety department detained two men, who were smuggling 150kg of banned tobacco products from Bengaluru, at Walayar checkpost on Wednesday.
The catch assumes significance as the department had been catching stashes of banned chewable tobacco products from godowns across the district, but it is yet to zero in on how these banned products manufactured outside the state come into the City
On Wednesday, officials at Walayar checkpost stopped a Kerala-registered Maruti Ertiga and found packets of banned tobacco products. They detained Vibin, 30, and Riyaz, 33, both from Ernakulam. Subsequently, the checkpost officials informed the rural police and the food safety department.
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Ficci Cascade constitutes Think Tank
New Delhi: FICCI’s dedicated vertical, Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy [CASCADE] has constituted a think tank which will advise, direct and provide necessary inputs in formulating a strong & effective future course of action to eliminate the menace of illicit trade. With the ever changing scenario of technology, trade policies and development of the law on the subject, the constitution of a Think Tank to guide and suggest inputs in mitigating this challenges arising out of illicit trade practices is opportune.
The Think tank comprises Ajay Shankar, Former Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP),Govt of India; Anil Sinha, Former Director, Central Bureau of Investigation; Hem Kumar Pande , Former Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Kameswari Subramanian, International Expert, Customs Law, Procedures & Trade Facilitation; Justice Manmohan Sarin, Former Lokayukta, NCT of Delhi, Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir, Judge, High Court of Delhi; Najib Shah, Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs; Narendra K Sabharwal, Chairman, FICCI IP Committee & Former Deputy Director General, WIPO; Neeraj Kumar, Former Commissioner, Delhi Police; P K Malhotra. Former Secretary Law, Ministry of Law and Justice; Sanjeev Tripathi, Former Chief, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW); Vikram Srivastava, Former Director General, Central Reserve Police Force and Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE.
http://www.millenniumpost.in/business/ficci-cascade-constitutes-think-tank-311237
Lear MoreFicci Cascade Forms 12-Member Think Tank To Fight Illicit Trade
Industry chamber Ficci’s anti-smuggling and anti-counterfeiting arm, Ficci CASCADE today said it has roped in ex-DIPP secretary Ajay Shankar and former CBI director Anil Sinha, among others, to form a think tank as part of efforts to curb illicit trade practices.
Ficci CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) said in a statement that it has constituted a think tank which will advise and provide necessary inputs in formulating a strong and effective future course of action to eliminate the menace of illicit trade.
The other members of the think tank include Hem Kumar Pande, former secretary in ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution; Justice Manmohan Sarin, former Lokayukta, NCT of Delhi and Najib Shah, ex-chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
Ex-Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar; former Research and Analysis Wing chief Sanjeev Tripathi; ex-Director General, CRPF Vikram Srivastava, international expert Kameswari Subramanian and Anil Rajput, Chairman, Ficci CASCADE are also members of the think tank, the statement added.
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Malaysian woman caught for smuggling over 200 cartons of contraband cigarettes via Tuas Checkpoint
SINGAPORE – The authorities seized a total of 227 cartons and 1,366 packets of contraband cigarettes on Monday afternoon (July 16) at Tuas Checkpoint.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that officers had found the duty-unpaid cigarettes stashed away in various compartments of a Malaysia-registered car at about 1.25pm.
From the pictures ICA posted, the cigarettes were concealed in places such as the inside of the car’s modified dashboard, front bumper, and rear fender.
The car was driven by a 42-year-old Malaysian woman. The case has been handed over to Singapore Customs.
Just last Friday, the ICA had seized around $19,200 worth of duty-unpaid cigarettes that had been concealed using similar methods, also involving a Malaysian driver and a Malaysia-registered car.
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Customs seizes over 30,000 counterfeit toys arriving at port in Charleston
Over $120,000 of counterfeit toys were taken by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents as they arrived at Charleston port, WTOC reports.
Trademarks belonging to Saban Brands, which holds the rights to Power Rangers, and Danjaq, which owns the copyright on “James Bond 007” were found as part of the shipment, as were trademarks for Apple Inc. and Cartoon Network, according to WTOC.
The shipment’s origin was China, and WTOC reports that it arrived in late June headed for an importer in North Carolina, according to Rob Brisley, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
WTOC reported that in addition to the financial impact to rights holders, counterfeit products pose safety concerns because their manufacturers have no reason to adhere to safety guidelines when it comes to production or materials according to Robert Fencel, director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency’s Charleston Area Port.
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article164363777.html
Lear MoreNeither an Authentic Product nor a Counterfeit: The Growing Popularity of Shanzhai Products in Global Markets.
Counterfeits have been a longstanding concern to global brand manufactures. However, recently, a new product category that partly imitates and partly innovates under the term shanzhai has entered into market. Shanzhai products mimic original leading brands through visual or functional similarities and may also provide additional features. Given this new copycat phenomenon, our study for the first time conceptually distinguishes shanzhai products from counterfeits, theoretically compares the values of consumers choosing shanzhai products versus counterfeits, and empirically tests such differences in one integrative model. Specifically, shanzhai buyers value product functional benefits more than counterfeit buyers, while counterfeit buyers value status consumption, yet experience less self‐clarity than shanzhai buyers. Our findings offer important implications for imitative innovation literature as well as for practitioners.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cjas.1501
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INDIA’S COASTLINE PROTECTION FLEET – AN OVERVIEW
India is a predominantly maritime nation, with a coastline of 7,517 km. This influences all the spheres of Indian lifestyle, from trade to tourism. India’s peninsular orientation dominates trade connectivity with the rest of the world. Consequently, it is seen that safe sea trade is a direct influencer of the economic prosperity of the country. Even today, 90% of India’s trade, by volume, is made via sea routes, making security and safety imperative.
Tourism has developed in the coastal regions of India, necessitating better safety equipment and technological efficiency in boats and ships. Additionally, the vast biodiversity of our marine ecosystem needs constant protection and conservation. The rising threat of piracy and terrorism makes border control a very serious matter.
Given the influence of the seas on the economic and social stability of India, a strong defence force for the protection of the coast and marine territories is important. As we have seen previously, the responsibility of protecting our coastline is broadly divided between three principal forces, viz., the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard, and the Border Security Force.
In this article, we see what the functions are, in maritime protection, and the vessels used by these forces that help them work efficiently.
Avenues of Marine Protection
Maritime Security
Protection of India’s territorial integrity, residents, and offshore assets from external, seaborne threats is the principal avenue of marine protection, handled by the Indian Navy. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the Navy to deter conflict and coercion in these waters.
Coastal and Offshore Defence
Coastal and offshore defence is a part of maritime security and is primarily focused along the coastline, baseline, internal waters, and to an extent in the territorial waters. Though the overall management of the coastal and offshore defence operations falls under the purveyance of the Indian Navy, services are provided by other state and central forces such as the Indian Coast Guard, Border Security Force, State Police, Other Armed Forces, Central Industrial Security Force, Intelligence Agencies, Customs and Immigration Authorities, Port Trust Authority, and Shipping and Energy Operators.
https://www.shmgroup.com/blog/indias-coastline-protection-fleet-an-overview/
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Burberry burns unsold products worth £28.6 million to guard against counterfeiting; is it ethical?
Reportedly, the retailers said that the measure was much needed to prevent illegal counterfeiting by ensuring the supply chain remains intact.
Luxury label Burberry destroyed unsold clothes, accessories, cosmetic products and perfume worth more than £28 million (more than Rs 250 crore) over the past one year. This step was taken to guard the brand’s intellectual property against counterfeiting. As per Guardian‘s report, in a practice understood to be common across the retail industry, the luxury brand burned products including £10.4 million worth of beauty items. Reportedly, the retailers said that the measure was much needed to prevent illegal counterfeiting by ensuring the supply chain remains intact.
However, industry people and social media users are criticising this act and calling out on how the brands have often shown disrespect for its own produce. To understand if this practice is ethical or not, indianexpress.com reached out to financial advisor Safir Anand, who handle designers like Manish Malhotra and Gaurav Gupta.
Burberry burns unsold products worth £28.6 million to guard against counterfeiting; is it ethical?
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Zimbabwe: 5 arrested for cash and gold smuggling
Zimbabwe police have arrested five persons for attempting to smuggle $4m and 98kg of gold out of the country.
The money and gold were stashed in suitcases, local media reports.
Chronicle newspaper reports that police apprehended the suspects upon tip off about their operation.
Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests, saying the suspects were illegally dealing in gold.
They were arrested at the leafy Harare suburb of Borrowdale. Police have confiscated the cash and gold and have launched investigations into the incident.
Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa is making efforts to deal with corruption after taking over. Last week Mnangagwa said his government has so far recovered $850m in stolen funds.
Mnangagwa during his swearing in as President last year issued an amnesty for state stolen funds to be returned.
https://africafeeds.com/2018/07/07/zimbabwe-5-arrested-for-cash-and-gold-smuggling/
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Foreign currencies worth Rs 40L seized at Trichy airport
Trichy: Authorities from the directorate revenue intelligence (DRI) secured three people and seized Rs 40 lakh worth of foreign currencies from them at the Trichy international airport.
According to airport authorities, a team of officials from the DRI intercepted the three passengers at the terminal when they were about to board a Sharjah-bound Air Indian Express flight on Saturday morning.
Subsequently, the team seized US dollars and Saudi riyals valued at Rs 40 lakh. The passengers were identified as Afraf Ali, 33, Prem Nazir, 33, Trichy and Mohammed Rizwan, 28, from Chennai.
With this, officials have so far recovered over Rs 1.08 crore worth foreign currency notes in the last five months, sources said.