Huge haul of cigarettes and fuel seized by Revenue
Almost 45 million cigarettes worth €23.5m were seized in 2016 while nearly 400,000 litres of fuel were confiscated, according to the Revenue’s annual report.
Almost 6,000 raids led to the recovery of 1,700kg of drugs with a street value of €30m, while more than 71,000 counterfeit goods such as watches and clothing were taken in by the authorities. Just under 1,600 vehicles were seized.
There were 73 separate cash seizures, mainly at airports and ports, amounting to just under €1,000,000. Calls made to a confidential number to report illegal activities resulted in seizures of about 50,000 cigarettes, 12kg of tobacco, and hundreds of litres of beer and wine.
The Revenue touted one of the biggest successes by authorities following a raid in Northern Ireland resulting in the seizure of 26,000 litres of illicit fuel. A further 14 tanks of the same fuel were seized subsequently in a joint north and south operation at Belfast and Dublin ports, bringing the total quantity taken by the authorities to 390,000 litres.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/huge-haul-of-cigarettes-and-fuel-seized-by-revenue-448876.html
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Newcastle tobacco plot foiled after man found with more than 350,000 illicit cigarettes
A tobacco smuggling plot has been stubbed out after a man was caught with more than 350,000 cigarettes stashed at his Newcastle home.
Derek Tams was found with the illicit hoard, which also included 220kg of rolling tobacco, in vehicles parked in his garage at Essex Close, Cruddas Park, in the city’s West End.
Unbeknown to the 58-year-old, he was being watched by HM Revenue and Customs officers as he transported the non-UK duty paid cigarettes into the vehicles, a court heard.
The officers then raided the address and found the illegal stash, as well as more than £47,000 in cash.
In total, around £136,688 had been cheated from the tax man, prosecutors said.
Now, Tams, of Essex Close, Cruddas Park, has avoided a jail sentence after he argued he was only a “foot soldier” in the illicit operation.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-tobacco-plot-foiled-after-12972815
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Petroleum smuggling rampant in Rautahat
Gas station operators in Rautahat district headquarters Gaur and elsewhere in the district are reportedly involved in smuggling petroleum products across the border, much to the chagrin of customers, for whom it is hard to get fuel in required quantity long after the unofficial blockade ended.
There are three petrol stations, namely Shushil, Gupta and Aslam petrol pumps in Gaur Municipality.
Though the pumps receive fuel once every week without fail, much to everyone’s surprise, they run out of stock the very next day.
Sources say the government’s recent directive to gas stations not to dispense petroleum products in jerry cans and other receptacles hasn’t done anything to stop the illegal practice. Though as per the rule, petrol stations are allowed to only directly fuel vehicles, a fuel smuggling racket is said to be operating hand-in-gloves with the petrol station operators.
“Every day large amount of petro-products is smuggled to India in jerry cans loaded in auto-rickshaws. The trade has flourished of late with no one, not even the local police, willing to do anything to stop them,” lamented a local youth Pusparaj Yadav, adding that petro-products are dearer by 15 rupees in the Indian market.
https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/petroleum-smuggling-rampant-rautahat/
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Deadly Fake Goods – $1.9 Billion In Counterfeit Products Includes Rum, Shoes, Appliances
Rum is among the latest items being counterfeited by criminals in Jamaica. The bulk of the $1.9 billion worth of fake goods seized by the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime (C-TOC) Branch last year is being linked to criminals.
The seized items were put on display by the C-TOC’s top security officers during a special press conference in downtown Kingston, yesterday. They included boxes of handbags, shoes, skin-bleaching products, T-shirts, computers and other appliances, clothing, and CDs and DVDs.
Standing deadly still among the items – likening the room to display stalls strewn across downtown’s business hub – were huge drums. Deputy Superintendent Carl Berry of the C-TOC said that they contained chemicals originally intended for cleaning purposes.
They were confiscated from a makeshift distillery operated by organised thugs who were allegedly using other ingredients to turn the deadly chemicals into alcoholic beverages for consumption that smell, taste, and are even of a texture similar to some locally made products.
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Growth of online shopping spurs trade in counterfeit products.
At a glance, the two websites bearing the Pandora name appear strikingly similar, showing glittering images of charms, bracelets and earrings. Pandora.net invites shoppers to explore a new Mother’s Day collection. Pandorapick.com touts deals, oddly, for New Year’s of up to 75 percent off.
The first site is real, and the second, offering silver charms for $9.99, is fake.
Pandora, a Danish jewelry company with U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, and countless other consumer brands are struggling with the growing problem of counterfeit goods. Companies like Pandora and Under Armour have dedicated internal teams seeking out counterfeiters and turn to law enforcement, lawsuits and other channels to protect their brands, but it’s seemingly a game of Whac-A-Mole as one site is taken down, another pops up.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-counterfeit-products-20170430-story.html
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Coast guard arrests two tankers on suspicion of fuel smuggling
The Libyan coastguard has arrested two tankers suspected of smuggling petroleum products following a gun battle which erupted when the vessels refused coastguard orders to stop and be boarded.
“The clashes lasted for three hours, but the two tankers were successfully seized,” said to Qassem Ayoub Qasim, the Libya navy spokesman.
The tankers were seized yesterday off Zuwara, 120 kilometers west of Tripoli. No one is said to have been hurt in the shooting.
According to Qasim, one of the tankers is the Ukrainian-flagged Ruta while the other, the Stark, is from an African country. He did not name the country, however an oil tanker of the same name is registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to MarineTraffic.com, both tankers had sailed from Turkey and were heading to Malta.
Lear MoreSmuggled cigarettes worth €50,000 seized by National Police
OFFICERS from the National Police stopped four cars in La Linea de la Concepcion and discovered 26,600 packs of smuggled cigarettes.
The officers were convinced that there was something underhanded going on when they saw the four vehicles leaving La Linea and heading towards San Roque in what appeared to be a convoy and all of the drivers were using mobile phones.
When all four cars were stopped and searched, the cigarettes which had no customs seals and are valued at €50,000 were discovered.
All four who were arrested were Moroccans living in Spain and are believed to be part of a group involved in tobacco smuggling.
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More than 13,000 illegal cigarettes seized in raids on Norwich shops
A total of 13,500 illegal cigarettes and 250g of illegal hand-rolling tobacco were confiscated from four of six stores which were swooped on.
The raids, part of a crackdown on suppliers of illegal tobacco, were led by trading standards officers who were accompanied by members of Norfolk Constabulary’s licensing, drug and alcohol team, Norwich City Council officers and Stuart Phillips of B.W.Y Canine Ltd with tobacco detection dogs Scamp and Yoyo.
The shops were all targeted as a result of intelligence received from members of the public, businesses and Norfolk Constabulary.
Lear MoreLife has come to standstill in India’s counterfeit capital
KOLKATA: While people in the rest of the country are queuing up outside banks for cash, there is an eerie calm in Kaliachak in Madla district. Following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, life has virtually come to standstill in India’s counterfeit capital.
Figures reveal how large is the fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) business in the area. This year, district police seized Rs 1.14 crore in fake currency. In the last two years, 180 cases of FICN have been lodged at the local police station and 240 people, mainly couriers, arrested.
Apart from West Bengal Police, national agencies too are investigating the FICN cases. The Border Security Force has seized FICN of Rs 1.35 crore in last 10 months while Rs 2.5 crore in FICN was seized in 2015.
Apart from the CBI and the NIA, the Enforcement Directorate is investigating 44 cases of FICN in which money was laundered to foreign countries to fund terror activities in India.
Interpipe launches service to defend against counterfeiting
Ukraine-based Interpipe has stepped up its offensive against counterfeiting, with the launch of an online service that can verify the authenticity of its products onsite.
The steel pipe producer says that its pipe labels are now imprinted with a QR code, which contains encrypted details that are unique to the customer’s specific order. If customers want to verify the authenticity of products, they just have to use their smartphones to scan the QR codes, which are linked to Interpipe’s shipped orders database.
If products are found to be genuine, the consignee will be redirected to a webpage, which will share details about the volume of products, the inspection certificate, date of shipment and heat number. In cases where products may be counterfeit, the customer will be notified and provided with the contact details for the regional sales office to verify the supply.
Andrey Burtsev, Commercial Director for Middle East, Africa and Asia markets, Interpipe said, “The Steel Alliance Against Counterfeiting (SAAC) employs a multifold approach against counterfeiters. As a key member of the alliance, Interpipe implements additional identification features on products to secure their origin. QR-codes on these pipe bundles will be a very effective first step to mitigate counterfeiting. This easy-to-use and technically advanced tool allows our customers to verify the origin of the bundle in just one click.”
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