Customs seizes 339 vehicles, smuggled goods worth N4.1bn in Ogun
Operatives of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) say about 339 smuggled vehicles worth N776 million were confiscated by Ogun State Area Command of Customs between January and August this year, just as it generates over N4.1 billion as import and excise duties within the same period.
Ogun State Area Command of Customs also impounded a truck of a popular cement manufacturer (name withheld) which was used by its driver to smuggle 3000 cartons of frozen turkey with duty paid value of N67.5 million in addition to the seized 11 packs of coconut-sized cannabis sativa, popularly known as Indian Hemp.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/customs-seizes-339-vehicles-smuggled-goods-worth-n4-1bn-ogun/
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Customs arrests two men for smuggling gold worth rs 27 lakh
Two men have been arrested by the customs for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 27 lakh at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.
The accused were intercepted by the customs officials after their arrival from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
“Detailed examination of their baggage and their personal search resulted in recovery of 933.12 gms gold having market value of Rs 27.26 lakh, in the form of eight gold biscuits of 116.64 gm each,” a press release issued today by the customs said.
The gold has been seized and the passengers have been arrested, it said.
Lear MoreWatch out for fake Samsung phones
Samsung has asked users to be wary of counterfeit devices with the firm’s branding.”If the purchase price is too good to be true, then it probably is. For example, if a Samsung Galaxy smartphone is found on sale at a much reduced price, we urge consumers to check with our customer care centresbefore purchasing the device, or else they may be left with a fake product,” said Richard Chetty, Service Director at Samsung Electronics South Africa.
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Lorry driver caught smuggling cigarettes jailed
A lorry driver caught smuggling eight million cigarettes into the UK has been jailed for two and half years. 40 year old Artur Staniszczak tried to evade more than £2 million in excise duty and was arrested in Dover Eastern Docks in July.
The arrest came after a search of the lorry he was driving revealed 7.9 million Richmond Blue branded cigarettes, instead of the 33 pallets of paper goods shown on the import documents.
Staniszczak pleaded guilty to evading excise duty at Maidstone Crown Court on 15th August 2017.
He was immediately jailed for two and a half years, of which 15 months must be served in custody.
Upon sentencing, His Honour Judge Carey, said: “You acted out of character by doing something criminal. Your role, in my judgement, was clearly a significant role.”
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2017-08-17/lorry-driver-caught-smuggling-cigarettes-jailed/
Lear MorePolice bust foreign cigarette smuggling racket
The Hyderabad Police busted illegal smuggling of foreign cigarettes in the country, on learning that the cigarettes were being smuggled into the city through trains.
According to officials of the Commissioner’s Task Force, cigarettes from Bangladesh are entering the country and being transported across India through the railway network. On Monday, officials who were tipped off about one such consignment arriving at Nampally Railway station, arrested a man who was operating out of Begum Bazar. The accused, Ajaz Ali Raza, was at the railway station to receive the consignment worth over ₹ 19 lakh.
Upon interrogation, the man revealed that the consignment had arrived from New Delhi but was originally sourced from Bangladesh. After it reaches the city, Raza would distribute the cigarettes to various outlets for sale. “These cigarettes were being imported without paying customs duty and thus were causing a loss to the government. That apart, they do not carry pictorial warnings about the ill- effects of cigarettes on health,” a police official informed.
Lear MoreDRI seizes Rs 10 cr worth smuggled Chinese vitamin C
GUWAHATI, Aug 13 – Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a syndicate involved in smuggling of Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) from China into India through Myanmar via the land borders in Northeastern States, a press release said.
In a major anti-smuggling operation conducted by the officers of DRI and Customs, the Department has seized a total of 122.5 MT of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) valued at close to Rs 10 crore smuggled from China with the objective of evading not just the Customs duties and GST, but also Anti-Dumping Duty, all adding up to evasion of approximately Rs 4.81 crore.
In the biggest-ever anti-dumping duty evasion case detected in NE, the officers recovered and seized a huge quantity of Chinese origin Ascorbic Acid in bulk packs weighing 88 MT, valued at Rs 7.04 crore from several godowns situated at Vairengte in Mizoram. The cartons, each weighing 25 kg, bore inscriptions ‘Made in China’, said the release.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=aug1417/oth061
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Government loses crores to illicit trade of goods and products, claims FICCI study
Illicit trade related to tobacco led to a loss of Rs 9,139 crore to the exchequer, a study released by FICCI on Friday has revealed.
The exchequer also bore losses due to illicit trade of mobile phones at Rs 6,705 crore and alcoholic beverages at Rs 6,309 crore, the FICCI report said.
The study, by FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy), also establishes a relationship between high taxes and availability of illicit products.
“High tax rates tend to exacerbate illicit markets by creating greater demand for cheap and counterfeit substitutes. A significant reason being that high tariffs and taxes create opportunities for those involved in illicit markets to step in and supply ‘reduced’ versions of the original product at lower prices,” said the report, titled ‘Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative to Accelerate Economic Development for the period 2014-15’.
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Crackdown by Hong Kong customs nets illegal cigarettes worth HK$57 million
Contraband cigarettes worth more than HK$57 million have been confiscated by Hong Kong Customs in 12 cases of tobacco smuggling from the mainland so far this year, a customs official said on Wednesday.
Details were revealed by assistant superintendent Lau Yuk-lung ,who heads the Customs division investigating illicit cigarettes, after customs officers made this year’s largest seizure of contraband in the city on Tuesday.
The HK$7.3 million haul was discovered when officers intercepted a Hong Kong-bound container truck at Man Kam To Immigration Control Point. The import document claimed it carried more than 800 cartons of assorted goods such as metalware and clothes.
Lear MoreBusinessman held for over Rs 3 crore gold smuggling
MUMBAI: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials on Wednesday arrested businessman Yusuf Kalwa in a case involving smuggling of 12.5kg gold worth Rs 3.6 crore through a courier. His son, Mustafa, is already in judicial custody for the same offence. They are believed to have smuggled in 50kg gold using the same modus operandi.
In July, DRI had unearthed a racket wherein gold was procured from Dubai and smuggled in Mumbai through courier from London. Officials had arrested two others, including Muzaffar Pawaskar, promoter of Global Trading Company, for allowing his company’s import-export code for smuggling in gold. The gold was declared as machine parts and coated with iron to evade detection. Customs has a courier cell but it carries out random checks of consignments.
Officials said in 2012, Yusuf and his wife Farida were arrested from the airport for attempting to smuggle 13 high-end Hublot watches worth Rs 1.82 crore from Dubai. Famida had wrapped the watches in a waist pouch and hid it under her burqa. Both were later released on bail.
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More than 1,000 containers of illicit alcohol seized at border
More than 1,000 containers of illicit alcohol have been seized at the Texas-Mexico border so far in the 2017 fiscal year.
This includes bottles that were not properly labeled, contained dangerous additives or were carried in improper containers that made the liquid unsafe for consumption.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officials have said that this is a common problem among travelers crossing into Texas from Mexico. Tax Compliance Officers from TABC’s Ports of Entry Division have spoken out about the dangers of this type of smuggling.
“It’s not uncommon for our TCOs to identify alcohol in unmarked containers, such as a gasoline container or water bottle,” TABC Ports of Entry chief John Reney said in a prepared statement. “These products, if allowed to enter Texas, could prove dangerous to consumers. For that reason, we seize the products and destroy them before they can enter the marketplace.”
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