Greece Ranks 2nd in Counterfeit and Contraband Consumption in EU
Greece continues to have the 2nd highest rate of C&C (Counterfeit and Contraband, including Illicit Whites) consumption in the EU, at 19% of total consumption, KPMG said in a Project Sun key findings report prepared for the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
The study said volume of C&C fell by 12% against a backdrop of sustained law enforcement activity, while ongoing economic and political uncertainty, including capital controls since June 2015, may have had an impact on the level of legal domestic cigarette consumption
Illicit Whites brand flows remained the main source of C&C, accounting for 44% of the total illicit volume.
Legal domestic sales continued their long-term decline, falling 6% against a backdrop of sustained political and economic uncertainty, with ongoing capital controls impacting consumer spending.
Lear MoreChina smashes drinks smuggling case worth 74 mln USD
TIANJIN, July 5 (Xinhua) — Tianjin Customs in north China announced on Wednesday that it has smashed a smuggling case involving some 5 million liters of wine, beers and mineral water.
It was estimated that the drinks involved were worth nearly 500 million yuan(about 74 million U.S. dollars). Tianjin Customs found that a Beijing company’s prices were much lower than the market average at the end of 2016. After two months’ investigation, five suspects were caught and key evidence seized. The suspects have allegedly been smuggling drinks through fake contracts and invoices and quoting low prices.
It was found that the suspects registered several companies in Beijing and Tianjin. The products smuggled were imported from a dozen countries including the United States, Mexico, Britain, France and Russia. More than 720,000 bottles of drinks worth about 60 million yuan were seized by Tianjin customs officers.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/05/c_136420388.htm
Lear MoreRevenue seized over 8 million smuggled cigarettes in limerick
This week Revenue Officers seized 8.3 million contraband cigarettes that had arrived into Dublin from China, via Rotterdam.
In an intelligence-led operation, Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner and detector dog ‘Grace’ were deployed, and the contraband cigarettes, branded “Richmond”, “Eton” & “Gold Classic”, were identified in a shipping container. The consignment was said to contain “clothing”.
On Tuesday and yesterday, Revenue officers carried out searches under warrant of premises in County Limerick and these investigations are ongoing with a view to prosecution.
The seized cigarettes have a retail value of over €4 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €2.9 million.
https://www.buzz.ie/news/revenue-seizes-over-8-million-smuggled-cigarettes-in-limerick-244922
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Iran Cigarette Production Rises, Imports, Smuggling Decline
The first quarter of the current fiscal year (March 21-June 2) saw cigarette production rise by 60%, imports fall by 75% and smuggling decline by 48% compared to last year’s corresponding period, the head of Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center said.
“Iran’s 12 cigarette factories produced 11 billion cigarettes in Q1, up 60% year-on-year. Imports of 700 million cigarettes in the three-month period show a 75% decrease over last year’s first quarter,” Ali Asghar Ramzi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official put Q1 smuggled cigarettes into the country at 2.15 billion, 48% fewer than last year’s corresponding period.
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Counterfeit cigarettes haul across the county almost topped 200,000
Almost 200,000 ‘illicit’ cigarettes were seized by Trading Standards officers across Lancashire last year, almost five times the number confiscated six years ago. And the number of people prosecuted for selling counterfeit and non-duty tobacco products has also rocketed, an investigation by a Johnston Press newspaper has found.
The price of cigarettes has almost doubled since smoking in public was banned ten years ago, from £5.33 to £9.91. Up to 88 per cent goes on excise duty and VAT, it was estimated. It was also revealed how: n 188,580 sticks of cigarettes were seized by the county council in 2016/17, up from 37,760 in 2012/13; n 27 people were prosecuted, down from 35 over the same period; n Nobody in Lancashire has been caught by police for smoking in a car with children since it was outlawed two years ago; and n Some authorities in the county have not issued any punishment for breaching the 2007 Smoke Free legislation.
Lear More1M counterfeit semiconductors seized
The JCO, code-named ‘Operation Wafers’, targeted counterfeit semiconductors imported into the EU from China & Hong Kong by Post / Express Courier.
In just two weeks, partners seized more than one million counterfeit devices such as diodes, LEDs, transistors and integrated circuits.
As the semiconductors in question were not produced by the genuine manufacturers, their incorporation into electronic products could have led to the failure of computer systems and caused serious malfunctions of sensitive infrastructures, whether civilian or military. As some of the counterfeit semiconductors seized could have been destined for the transport sector and ended up in cars or airplanes or could have made their way into hospitals as part of surgical instruments, their use could have endangered human lives. Moreover, the smuggling of counterfeit products causes serious financial damages to the European industry.
http://evertiq.com/design/42026
Smuggled via jet skis & ports $100m illegal gun trade in T&T…
There is a $100 million illegal gun trade in this country and some of the drugs and guns are being smuggled in via jet skis and possibly through 40 per cent of containers at the ports that are given a “green light” without any checks.
This was some of the startling information disclosed before the Parliament’s Joint Select Committee (JSC) into the National Security Ministry yesterday, at the Parliament Building, International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain.
Even Police Service Senior Superintendent of Armoury Leroy Brebnor seemed to be taken aback when it was revealed by Comptroller of Customs and Excise Glenn Singh that 40 per cent of containers that come into the country are not checked because the owners of these containers are deemed to be compliant.
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Authorities seize counterfeit SKF bearings in Sabah
PETALING JAYA: SKF recently supported Malaysian authorities in a raid against a company trading counterfeit bearings in Sabah.
According to a statement issued by SKF, during the raid, more than 1,300 counterfeit SKF-branded products and boxes with counterfeit packaging and marking tools were seized. A wide range of products was seized, including goods used in palm-oil production, agricultural machinery, but also automotive spare parts.
Every year, SKF’s Brand Protection Team participates in more than 100 raids against retailers, distributors and manufacturers of counterfeit products across all continents.
According to SKF, counterfeit bearings are not manufactured in traditional factories – they are made in small workshops, through illegal re-branding of low-cost, unreliable products with brand names of global brands, like SKF. This tricks end-users into believing they have purchased premium products, with SKF specifications and quality. If end-users get counterfeit bearings in their plants, it could pose a risk to their equipment, business and people.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/07/03/authorities-seize-counterfeit-skf-bearings-sabah
Lear MoreReport: 10 Malaysians caught smuggling over 100kg of gold bars into Japan
PETALING JAYA: More than 100kg of gold bars allegedly brought from Malaysia were confiscated by customs officials at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka in April, a Japanese news portal reports.
According to Japan Today, officials were said to have found the gold bars worth over 500 million yen (RM19.1mil) hidden under the clothing of 10 Malaysians who had arrived at the airport from the country.
The Malaysians reportedly walked through the required customs declaration procedures without declaring the gold bars. The case is being investigated as a suspected violation of the customs and consumption tax laws.
According to the news portal, gold smuggling has been on the rise since Japan’s consumption tax was raised from 5% to 8% in April 2014. It said many gold smuggling cases reported since then involved passengers arriving on flights from airports in Hong Kong and South Korea.
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Men Jailed Over Tobacco Smuggling
Two lorry drivers who tried to smuggle cigarettes and tobacco into the UK through the Port of Dover have been jailed for a total of four years, after investigations by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Arkadiusz Zuk, 43, from Poland, smuggled 1.6 million counterfeit ‘Excellence’ cigarettes into the UK alongside a legitimate cargo of light fittings and roofing membrane. The lorry he was driving was stopped by Border Force officers at Dover Eastern Docks on 13 November 2013. Zuk was arrested after the load was examined and the cigarettes were found.
He failed to attend a bail hearing in 2014 and an arrest warrant was issued. He returned to the UK from Poland in November 2015, pleading not guilty to evading £359,000 in excise duty. He was found guilty on 26 June 2017 after a four day trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
http://www.heart.co.uk/kent/news/local/men-jailed-over-tobacco-smuggling/#EkTzGsqXWKLTVf0a.97
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