
Illegal smuggling of drugs, firearms on the rise
More firearms and drugs are illegally entering the country than ever before, a consequence of Koreans having increased access to the goods online, a lawmaker said Monday.
From the beginning of the year to August, 246 firearms-related products – including conventional guns, stun guns, gas guns and parts – have been smuggled into the country, already 36.6 percent higher than the 180 total trafficked in last year, based on data obtained from the Korea Customs Service by Park Myung-jae, a lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party.
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The StandardOrganisation of Nigeria (SON) has reiterated its determination to prosecute importers of fake products into the country.
A statement issued in Lagos and signed by the newly appointed Director General of the organisation, Mr Aboloma Anthony Osita, on Friday said that the proposed prosecution of fake products importers and marketers of sub-standard products would mark a new beginning in the agency’s fight against peddlers of inferior products into the country.Osita said tahat the menace of influx of sub-standard products is highly dangerous to the growth of the nation’s economy and human health stressing that no stone will be left unturned under his leadership of the agency to fight peddlers of fake products in the country.He said that its not going to be business as usual as efforts will be stepped up to discourage the importation of fake products.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2016/10/10/son-to-prosecute-importers-of-fake-products/
SON To Prosecute Importers Of Fake Products
The StandardOrganisation of Nigeria (SON) has reiterated its determination to prosecute importers of fake products into the country.
A statement issued in Lagos and signed by the newly appointed Director General of the organisation, Mr Aboloma Anthony Osita, on Friday said that the proposed prosecution of fake products importers and marketers of sub-standard products would mark a new beginning in the agency’s fight against peddlers of inferior products into the country.Osita said tahat the menace of influx of sub-standard products is highly dangerous to the growth of the nation’s economy and human health stressing that no stone will be left unturned under his leadership of the agency to fight peddlers of fake products in the country.He said that its not going to be business as usual as efforts will be stepped up to discourage the importation of fake products.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2016/10/10/son-to-prosecute-importers-of-fake-products/
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Liaoning busts petroleum products smuggling ring
Suspects involved in smuggling petroleum products are seized in a raid jointly launched by customs in Dalian City in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province and Qingdao City of East China’s Shandong Province, and the coastguards of Liaoning. Some 29 suspects were caught in the raid and an oil tanker and 20 trucks confiscated. The illegal operation is thought to have been worth 60 million yuan. ($8.9 million). (Photo: China News Service/Gao Shuo)
http://www.ecns.cn/visual/hd/2016/10-20/108558.shtml
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12 million fake phones and accessories seized in Dubai
Dubai: More than 12 million counterfeit mobile phones and mobile accessories were seized by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai between January and September this year.
The counterfeit products were valued at more than Dh327.4 million.
EbrahimBehzad, Head of Intellectual Property Rights division at DED, said intensive scrunity from authorities like the DED and Dubai Police led to counterfeiters “thinking up new and innovative ways to hide and make their counterfeit products”.
Behzad was speaking at the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA) conference on combating intellectual property crimes on Monday.
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Nearly 1 billion smuggled cigarette packets annually consumed in Vietnam
Nearly one billion smuggled cigarette packets are consumed in Vietnam each year, causing losses of over 10,000 billion Vietnamese dong, or some 450 million US dollars, to its state budget, local media reported Sunday.
The cigarette smuggling also causes losses of one million jobs for farmers and workers in the domestic tobacco industry, Central Vietnam Television (VTV) quoted statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City-based Vietnam Tobacco Association as reporting.
In the last two years, Vietnamese police forces nationwide detected nearly 4,000 cases of cigarette smuggling, confiscating more than nine million packets, and prosecuted over 300 cases, VTV quoted statistics from the Ministry of Public Security.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1010266.shtml

Investigation into illegal electronics smuggling ends in arrest of two Russians and a Brooklyn man
Federal agents arrested two Russian nationals and a Brooklyn man with dual citizenship Thursday who are accused of smuggling high-tech electronics overseas in violation of U.S. export law.
Dmitrii Karpenko, Alexey Krutilin and Alexey Barysheff were taken into custody on charges related to what investigators described as an illegal scheme that put national security at risk. They each face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.
Mr. Barysheff, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Russia, masterminded the scheme by using two Brooklyn-based front companies to buy digital-to-analog converters, integrated circuits and other microelectronics that were then shipped to his home country without a license, the Justice Department said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/7/investigation-into-illegal-electronics-smuggling-e/

Two men arrested following raids in Catfield in investigation into £2.24 million tobacco smuggling fraud
Two men have been arrested by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) during raids linked to an investigation into a suspected £2.24 million tobacco smuggling fraud.
Share article from onfacebook Tweet article from Share article from on Google Pluspost article from on reddit email article from HMRC, accompanied by officers from Norfolk Police, seized 7.3 million suspected illicit cigarettes from a unit in Catfield late on Tuesday, before searching private addresses in Essex and East London on Wednesday.
The cigarettes, computers, paperwork and £1,500 in cash were seized during the operation.
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Ukrainians smuggle Apple devices from abroad to save money
Despite average salaries of only $2,000 per year, many Ukrainians still long to possess an iPhone.
But while U.S. customers can buy a new iPhone 6S for $549, Ukrainians have to pay $730 for the same model at an official distributor’s store. So many Ukrainians opt for cheaper, smuggled Apple gadgets.
Hand-held electronics are easy to transport and pound-for-pound are more profitable than other goods. As a result, devices such as Apple smartphones, tablets and watches are popular with Ukrainian smugglers.
https://www.kyivpost.com/technology/ukrainians-smuggle-apple-devices-abroad-save-money.html
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Customs seizes $150,000 of fake Australian skincare products: The challenge of fighting counterfeiters in Australia
Counterfeit skincare products to the value of $150,000 have been seized by customs officials after the goods were shipped into the country from China with a fake “Australian Made” logo.
Australian Made Campaign Ltd (AMCL) has an agreement with the Australian Border Force through which products coming into the country with the “Australian Made, Australian Grown” logo can be intercepted by customs officials.
Five thousand units of skincare products that were copies of genuine Australian items from the brand Eaoron will now be destroyed, according to Australian Made.
Australian Made deputy chief executive Ben Lazzaro says this case highlights the range of challenges faced by businesses as a result of the e-commerce boom.
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