
Cops bust fake coin factory in Delhi
This was a mint making coins of 5 and 10 denominations, except that it wasn’t run by the government. In a rare catch, police have stumbled upon a clandestine factory in Bawana area of outer Delhi which was minting coins that looked like the real ones.
The racket was busted when one of the distributors, Naresh Kumar, was detained on suspicion by cops at a check-post in Rohini. Around one lakh coins were later seized from the factory.
Teams have been formed to arrest the two alleged masterminds of the operation, who are known by code-names Raju and Sonu. The factory manager, Rajesh Kumar, has been detained.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Cops-bust-fake-coin-factory-in-Delhi/articleshow/54647723.cms

Curb illicit tobacco trade, smuggling
TOBACCO Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) says efforts by the Zambian government to boost foreign reserves will remain exposed if the continued loss of annual revenue taxes worth K50 million through illicit trade and smuggling is not stopped.
TISA has since called for increased law enforcement and that border controls should be a priority for stakeholders including the Ministry of Home Affairs if Zambia is to address the country’s revenue losses, resulting from a drop in copper prices, among other factors.
https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=81146
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Illicit tobacco trade costs Zambia more than K50 million per year
Government’s efforts to shore up the national budget and boost foreign reserves remain exposed to the continued loss of taxation revenue through illicit trade and smuggling. Increased law enforcement and border controls should be a priority for stakeholders including the Ministry of Home Affairs if Zambia is to address the country’s loss of revenue resulting from a drop incopper prices among other factors.According to the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA), so profitable is the illicit trade that tobacco products are the world’s most widely smuggled legal product today. The illicit trade in tobacco products is a multi-billion-dollar business, fuelling organised crime and corruption, as well as robbing governments of much-needed tax money.In Zambia, more than 400 million cigarettes a year enter the market illicitly smuggled, counterfeited or tax-evaded, accounting for 30% of the product on the market. Stemming the flow of illicit cigarettes on the market could help bridge the national budget deficit gap.
https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/09/29/illicit-tobacco-trade-costs-zambia-k50-million-per-year/
Warning up vs. fake products
Negrenses are being warned against the proliferation, not only of fake cigarets, that was recently discovered by authorities, but also of leading branded bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste and even noodles.
Alarmed, Board Member Alain Gatuslao, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee on Laws and Ordinances, proposed a resolution yesterday that was unanimously approved by the SP, calling for a public hearing on the proliferation of fake branded products.
While he did not mention the branded products being faked, pending the public hearing next week to be presided over jointly by the SP committees on Trade and Health, Gatuslao said retailers are complaining about losing income, as fake products are being sold at 40 to 60 percent lower than original products.
Gatuslao said he will ask the Department of Health to check on the composition of fake items, that may affect the health of consumers, who use them.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2016/September/29/businessnews2.htm
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Economist Tips Smuggling Boom if Cigarette Prices Raised 365%
Jakarta. A plan touted by some in the government to increase cigarette prices is likely to have a disastrous affect on tobacco farmers and encourage counterfeit and smuggling in the local market, a researcher has said.Rumors of a price hike were sparked after research from the University of Indonesia’s center for health economics and policy studies found rising prices lowers cigarette consumption.The research found that 71 percent of smokers would quit entirely if the price reached Rp 50,000 ($3.75) per pack.
Dzulfian Syafrian, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said any price hike would substantially affect the industry, pointing firstly to laborers and farmers who would likely lose their jobs.

The genuine article: How to tackle product counterfeiting
Product counterfeiting is a serious problem for industry and consumers alike.As system provider, Netstal has tackled this problem and together with its partners, says it is able to offer its customers reliable and inexpensive solutions. At this year’s K Trade Fair, Netstal will demonstrate these solutions with the help of the first ever 128-cavity pipette tip production line.
“According to an Ernst & Young study, approximately 80% of all companies globally are affected by the counterfeiting of merchandise,” said Dr Patrick Blessing, head of Netstal’s Medical Technology and Precision Parts business unit. Statistics published by the European Union show that around 36 million counterfeit products are being confiscated annually by the customs authorities of member countries. At the same time, reports are on the rise about significant harm caused by the consumption or use of counterfeit brand-name products. The risk potential nowadays is great and continues to rise. However, counterfeit products do not just pose serious risks to people, animals and the environment. In the worst-case scenario, brands affected by counterfeiting can suffer from a loss of image that cannot be fixed in the short term. Therefore, companies are increasingly looking for ways to label their products as absolutely forgery-proof in order to optimally protect themselves and the consumers of their products from harm.
http://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/news/the-genuine-article-how-to-tackle-product-counterfeiting/
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Bulgarian Interior Ministry Reports Successful Operation Against Cigarette Smugglers
The Interior Ministry reported a successful operation against cigarette smuggling in which it did not participate but provided information about the criminal group to partner institutions.
16 people were arrested in the operation including 3 Bulgarians. According to the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kostov, “a conspiratory and highly-organised criminal group has been neutralised.”The group was involved in the illegal manufacturing and distribution of tobacco products on the territory of various European countries.

Falls Church Man Sentenced for Smuggling Fake Apple, Samsung Products
Bao Doan, 32, Falls Church, was sentenced Friday to a year and one day in prison for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit Apple and Samsung products and smuggling, the U.S. Justice Department for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Doan was also ordered to forfeit over $115,000 in proceeds and to pay Apple and Samsung more than $20,000 in restitution.

Counterfeit e-commerce: The dark side of WhatsApp
Transgressions attract notice but only when there is a witness. Counterfeits on e-commerce portals attract attention while counterfeits sold on WhatsApp go unnoticed.
Indian e-commerce firms these days are anxious to reassure customers about the genuineness of products in their online marketplaces. Flipkart has been running a campaign titled “Flipkart matlab bilkul pakka” (Flipkart means completely genuine), trying to differentiate itself on the genuineness of its products and easy returns. Amazon has run an advertisement titled “We Indians love asli” featuring Indians checking out the genuineness of products.

Ecuador: Potato and onion producers ask government to curb smuggling
According to domestic producers of potatoes and red onions, apart from having to deal with production costs that are higher than in Colombia and in Peru, they also have to compete against products being smuggled through the borders.
Fernando Pozo, a potato producer and member of the Council of Citizen Participation for the Agricultural Sector in Tungurahua, said that, due to the production costs and smuggling, producers were not making a profit and sometimes even lost money.
The traders from the Ambato wholesale market concur with producers on the need of conducting operations to prevent the smuggling of products through the northern and southern borders as these affect the national production and influence prices.
Mario Mayorga, president of the Merchants Association of the Central Wholesale Market, said that the lack of controls was causing the bankruptcy of small and medium producers, especially of potatoes and red onions.
According to statistics, nearly 60,000 quintals of red onions enter the country on a monthly basis.