Man caught smuggling 100 iPhone X models at Delhi Airport.
At the Delhi Airport, a man was arrested by the customs for allegedly trying to smuggle 100 iPhone X models into the country. The 53-year-old accused was intercepted by the customs after his arrival from Dubai on Friday. Apple iPhone X is one of the most expensive flagship smartphones in the country right now.
The base model of iPhone X with 64GB storage retails at Rs 95,390 while the higher version with 256GB storage retails for Rs 1,08,930. “Hundred iPhone X handsets worth a total of Rs 85.61 lakh were seized from his baggage after a thorough search,” said Amandeep Singh, Additional Commissioner of customs at the airport.
Research firm Strategy Analytics reported that Apple sold 16 million units of iPhone X during the first quarter of 2018. It was also the most successful smartphone model in terms of sales during the quarter ending March 2018.
http://www.bgr.in/news/man-caught-smuggling-100-iphone-x-models-at-delhi-airport/
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Ahead Of Kairana Bypoll, Illegal Alcohol Worth 1 Crore Seized
MUZAFFARNAGAR: The police today claimed to have seized liquor worth Rs. one crore at two check posts on the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border in Shamli district, ahead of Kairana bypoll in Uttar Pradesh.
The 48-hour drive against smuggling of illicit liquor came days before Kairana parliamentary constituency bypoll on May 28.
According to Additional SP Shlok Kumar, during the drive, police seized over 1,300 cartons of liquor and arrested three persons in this connection. The liquor was being smuggled from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh.
While 331 cartons of liquor worth Rs. 30 lakh were seized at Yamuna checkpost in Kairana, as many as 1,000 liquor cartons having an estimated worth of Rs. 70 lakh were seized at Bidoli checkpost under Jhinjhana police station limits. Two trucks carrying the liquor cartons were also seized.
Meanwhile, police seized over Rs. 12 lakh in cash from a car coming from Haryana to Kairana yesterday, according to circle officer Rajesh Kumar Tiwari.
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Tobacco smuggling gang jailed
A five-strong tobacco smuggling gang, which brought more than 12 million illicit cigarettes into the North East hidden inside wooden cable drum discs, has been jailed.
The gang was caught by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers unloading cigarettes at an industrial unit in Stanley, County Durham.
Officers seized 1.2 million cigarettes, which had been smuggled into the UK from Ukraine by lorry in April 2015. Individual packets of the Winston Blue branded products had been packed in long plastic strips to fit inside the 171 modified cable drum discs.
An HMRC investigation found the five men smuggled more than 12 million non-UK duty paid cigarettes, worth £3.6m in duty and VAT, into the UK between 2013 and 2015.
https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/tobacco-smuggling-gang-jailed-04-05-2018/
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Sri Lanka becomes smuggling hotspot, DRI seizes 32 kg gold worth Rs 10 crore in Chennai
In a span of less than 24 hours, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai Zonal Unit, seized a total of 32.249 kg of gold valued at Rs 10.215 crore. It was smuggled into India by sea and being transported to Chennai for sale.
Six people were apprehended in connection with the case and all of them in their statements admitted that they purposely transported the smuggled gold to Chennai.
The gold was being smuggled from Sri Lanka through coastal Tamil Nadu.
On Tuesday evening, DRI officials kept a strict vigil in the bylanes of Mannady and observed a person on a two-wheeler receiving a heavy suspicious looking package.
The receiver of the contraband was apprehended by the officials. After detailed examination the gold was found to weigh 12.149 kg.
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Rs 35 Lakh Worth Counterfeit TVS Motor Spare Parts Seized
Officials of Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Cell have seized fake parts, labels and die tool machines worth Rs 35 lakh during a raid conducted here recently. The IPR Enforcement Cell, Dindigul unit of Tamil Nadu Police along with officials of TVS Motor Company carried out a raid in some godowns in the district and recovered huge quantities of spare parts, unfinished counterfeit cannisters, die tool machines worth Rs 35 lakh, a press release said.
Following the seizure, IPR Enforcement Cell officials initiated legal action against the company involved in the supply of fake spare parts under the provisions of Copyright Act, the release said.
TVS Motor Company has taken up brand protection programme to ensure availability of genuine parts to consumers through its 4,000 touch points. The Chennai-based company has appointed over 100 authorised parts stockists to supply genuine parts in retail markets across the country, the release added.
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P80-M worth of smuggled, fake cigarettes found in Malabon, Manila
An anti-cigarette smuggling task force uncovered smuggled and fake cigarettes worth about P80 million in Malabon and Manila last week amid higher prices of the so-called sin product due to the government’s first tax reform package, the two leading tobacco manufacturers said.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s “Strike Team,” led by revenue officer Remedios Advincula Jr., in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, last April 17 discovered “large” quantities of counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes at a crystal meth (shabu) factory in Barangay Santolan in Malabon, PMFTC Inc. said in a statement.
Authorities found 150 master cases of fake Marlboro cigarettes at a leased property reportedly owned by Marynor Patricio and Nova Acuna, PMFTC said, even as the tax force had yet to confiscate the goods.
Since the cigarettes are fake, they have either no tax stamps or fake tax stamps, hence depriving the government of excise tax payments.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/984345/p80-m-worth-of-smuggled-fake-cigarettes-found-in-malabon-manila
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Uganda loses Sh3bn to illicit cigarette imports
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) would have netted more than Ush200 billion (about Sh5.46 billion) from the cigarette trade alone but only got Ush74 billion (Sh2 billion) due to a surge in cigarette smuggling last year.
In a media briefing yesterday in Kampala, Mr Vincent Seruma, the URA assistant commissioner public and corporate affairs, said illicit importation of cigarettes occasions serious revenue losses to the exchequer.
“Cigarettes are high value. It enters the country through roguish ways which we are aware of. We have invested significantly in intelligence to break the rackets,” he said.
In the last six months, the URA said it had conducted several interceptions and recovered smuggled goods via the consolidation centre in Kisaasi, a suburb, north east of Kampala.
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Police dismantle tobacco smuggling gang, seize 1.2m cigarettes.
The Portuguese police said they have arrested the leader of a tobacco smuggling gang and seized 1.2 million cigarettes in Porto and Aveiro, both in the north of Portugal.
The leader of the gang has been charged with criminal association and qualified tobacco smuggling.
On Thursday the police seized 130,000 cigarettes and 226 kg of tobacco plus two vehicles. Most of the tobacco has hidden in false compartments in the vehicles that had been specially made to hide the contraband.
The police also said that a total of 10 individuals and two companies had been charged in connection with the smuggling.
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Customs seizes 174,015 litres of petroleum products valued N27m
Joseph Attah, Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says the Service seized 174,015 litres of petroleum products valued at about N27 million in 2017.
Attah made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
He said just like any other products, the NCS had been doing a lot to ensure that products that should not be exported were not, as well ensure that prohibited goods were not smuggled into the country.
“In the case of petroleum products, the statistics here is that of Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2018. A total of 174,015 litres have been seized across the Customs Commands.
“Further breakdown shows that within this period, 81,270 litres of petroleum products were seized in Seme border, 69,150 litres in West Martine Command, 10,000 litres in Federal Operations Unit Zone D, that is the Northeast.
http://thenationonlineng.net/customs-seizes-174015-litres-petroleum-products-valued-n27m/
Lear MoreTake these steps to stay safe from counterfeit software and fraudulent subscriptions
Software piracy and fraudulent subscriptions are serious, industry-wide problems affecting consumers and organizations around the world.
In 2016, 39 percent of all software installed on computers was not properly licensed, according to asurvey conducted by BSA and The Software Alliance. And each year, tens of thousands of people report to Microsoft that they bought software that they later learned was counterfeit.
What can appear to be a too-good-to-be-true deal for a reputable software program, can in fact be a counterfeit copy or a fraudulent subscription. In many cases, such illegitimate software downloads may also be riddled with malware – including computer viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, or even botware, designed to damage your computer, destroy your data, compromise your security, or steal your identity. And in the world of cloud computing, where many applications are often delivered as a subscription service, consumers could be unwittingly sending payments to cybercriminals, unaware that cybercriminals selling fraudulent subscriptions will not provide needed administrative support.
Curbing the proliferation of software piracy
Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to trick consumers– and the outcome can be costly. According to report released by the Ponemon Institute in 2017, the average cost of cybercrime globally climbed to $11.7M per organization, a staggering 62 percent increase over the last five years. And a recent Juniper Research report, Cybercrime & the Internet of Threats 2017, states that “the estimated cost to the global economy as a result of cybercrime is projected to be $8 trillion by 2022.”
How do cybercriminals deceive consumers? There are many ways. One common technique is to set up a fake website that falsely claims the software subscriptions or copies offered for sale on the site are legitimate. Sophisticated cybercriminals go to great lengths to make their websites look authentic to trick consumers into buying fraudulent subscriptions or counterfeit software.
For decades, through partnerships with industry, governments, and other agencies, Microsoft has been working to fight software counterfeiting and to protect consumers from the dangers posed by this and other types of cybercrime. Today, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), a unique group of cybercrime-fighting investigators, analysts, and lawyers, works globally to detect and prevent fraud targeting our customers. Our priority is to protect our customers and help create a secure experience for everyone. One of the key ways we do this is to work with law enforcement and other organizations to bring the perpetrators of cybercrime to justice.
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