Low taxes on tobacco products give green light to Ukraine’s smugglers
With cigarettes being so cheap in Ukraine, there’s a wide margin for smugglers to make a good profit. Moreover, the low cost of smoking takes a toll on the nation’s health, with high rates of smoking-related diseases and deaths.
Yet parliament is in no hurry to increase taxes on tobacco. In defiance of calls by anti-smoking activists to raise tobacco taxes to combat smuggling and improve the nation’s health, the Rada’s tax and customs committee has been protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, as well as blocking laws to restrict cigarette advertising.
Add to that the rapid fall in the value of the hryvnia, the currency having lost two-thirds of its value over the last two years, the illicit cross-border trade in cigarettes has continued apace. In 2016, even high-level diplomats have been caught illegally transporting cigarettes to Hungary.
Lear More
Agency joins force with Customs to stop rice smuggling
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) and the Nigeria Customs Service are partnering to increase surveillance in monitoring activities at the border posts to curb rice smuggling.
The Acting Director-General, NAFDAC, Mr Yetunde Oni, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Oni said that records showed that rice imported through the seaports were registered as good quality as pronounced by satisfactory reports from NAFDAC laboratories while those smuggled through the land borders were unregistered and largely substandard.
http://pulse.ng/local/nafdac-agency-joins-force-with-customs-to-stop-rice-smuggling-id5568724.html
Lear More
Christian Dior wages war with online counterfeiters
Luxury brand Christian Dior has targeted a number of online counterfeiters in a trademark infringement lawsuit.
In a filing at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division on September 28, Dior claimed that the defendants had sold counterfeit clothes and fashion accessories featuring the Dior trademarks.
“The defendants create the defendant internet stores by the hundreds and design them to appear to be selling genuine Dior products, while actually selling counterfeit Dior products to unknowing consumers,” said the filing.
http://www.worldipreview.com/news/christian-dior-wages-war-with-online-counterfeiters-12351
Low taxes on tobacco products give green light to Ukraine’s smugglers
With cigarettes being so cheap in Ukraine, there’s a wide margin for smugglers to make a good profit. Moreover, the low cost of smoking takes a toll on the nation’s health, with high rates of smoking-related diseases and deaths.
Yet parliament is in no hurry to increase taxes on tobacco. In defiance of calls by anti-smoking activists to raise tobacco taxes to combat smuggling and improve the nation’s health, the Rada’s tax and customs committee has been protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, as well as blocking laws to restrict cigarette advertising.
Add to that the rapid fall in the value of the hryvnia, the currency having lost two-thirds of its value over the last two years, the illicit cross-border trade in cigarettes has continued apace. In 2016, even high-level diplomats have been caught illegally transporting cigarettes to Hungary.
Lear More
Research at Brock University looks into the counterfeit product industry
For some people nothing beats the rush of a new purchase. A new designer handbag or a pair of must-have sneakers can make all the difference in a hectic week, or even just as a treat. A designer brand that everyone is talking about can make a person feel one step ahead in life. However some opt for the designer look and feel without bothering with the designers themselves, and instead reach for a knock-off. These ‘fake’ products range from cheap and unconvincing to more accurate emulations of the original. Either way, these almost-designer items are counterfeit and often that means illegal.
Lear MoreMillions in illegal counterfeit products seized in Puerto Rico
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations has announced that 206 seizures were made of counterfeit products, valued at $1.5 million (MSRP), which were illegally imported into Puerto Rico via international mail.
A wide range of counterfeited products were seized during the enforcement effort, called Operation Silver Snake 2, to include: consumer products, apparel, footwear, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and more.
Lear More
Man indicted in cigarette smuggling ring faces additional drug charges
Federal authorities have brought additional drug charges against one of the half-dozen men indicted last month in connection with a cigarette smuggling ring that allegedly relied upon the help of three local law enforcement officers.
The FBI last week charged Anwar “Tony” Abdelmajid-Ahmad with trying to purchase a kilogram of heroin, the highly addictive opioid that has been blamed for an increasing number of local overdose deaths.
Abdelmajid-Ahmad, 29, was taken into custody during a sting operation at a New Orleans hotel. He was ordered held without bail following a brief court appearance Monday.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_4c1c57fe-8a6f-11e6-aa05-db9c32fc49f0.html
International fake note smuggling gang members nabbed in Delhi
Two members of an international fake Indian currency notes (FICN) smuggling racket were arrested with counterfeit notes of the face value of Rs 300,000 and suspected to be routed through Pakistan, police said.
After surveillance of nearly four months, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police nabbed 34-year-old Neetu alias Radha and 23-year-old Salim Sheikh from Seemapuri on Sunday.
“During surveillance, it was revealed that FICN was being pumped into Malda (West Bengal) by Pakistan through the porous Indo-Bangla border. From Malda, it was being handed over to racketeers in various parts of the country including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.
‘Cheap whites’: The new trend dominating tobacco black markets
Tobacco smugglers have found new ways of expanding their illegal activities and now focus on a trend called “cheap whites”, which is raising new challenges for European regulators and Europol.
The illicit tobacco trade is a global issue accounting for an estimated 10.4% of the cigarette market worldwide. In addition to being a major funding source for organised crime, the cost to European tax revenues is estimated to amount to €11.3 billion a year (See background).
The European Commission is addressing the issue as part of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), and has ratified the World Health Organisation’s Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (FCTC).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/mondaycheap-whites-the-new-trend-dominating-tobacco-black-markets/
Tobacco industry urges war on smugglers
The Việt Nam Tobacco Association (VTA) has called for changes to the law to enable authorities to combat the increasing incidence of cigarette smuggling.
“We suggest the Government should amend the law to reduce the number of cigarettes that can be smuggled without attracting criminal charges from 1,500 to 500 packs,” Phạm Kiến Nghiệp, general secretary of VAT, told Việt Nam News.
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/343597/tobacco-industry-urges-war-on-smugglers.html#713vsWLydb1RHtga.99