Terror Financing And The Black Market Cigarette Trade
In Pennsylvania last month, state representatives Russ Diamond and Rick Saccone challenged a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase (which was later passed into law), arguing that the price hike would regressively target poorer smokers and encourage black market sales. More critically, the two lawmakers pointed out that increased sales of smuggled tobacco would put more money in the pockets of violent extremists who wish to do Americans harm.
That argument raised eyebrows in the press, but the point made by Diamond and Saccone is a critically important one. A major 2015 report from the State Department identified tobacco smuggling as a major threat to national security, noting that selling illegal cigarettes is a relatively “low-risk, high reward” activity for criminal networks and terror groups, who often join forces to exploit the illicit trade.
Chinese customs clean up ‘luxury’ smugglers.
The General Administration of Customs People’s Republic of China (GACC) has become increasingly successful in its ongoing crackdown on tobacco, liquor and luxurygoods smuggling through airports, ports and international border crossing points.
The GACC points to multiple examples where its officers have confiscated significant quantities of concealed tobacco, liquor, cosmetics and luxurygoods items – particularly watches.
These ongoing efforts also include two separate incidents in the last year where it has confiscated tobacco goods and prosecuted both smugglers and airport staff involved in the incidents.
Lear MoreStudent Hongtao Zhang jailed for dodging more than $460,000 in tax revenue by illegally importing almost 700,000 cigarettes
A HIGHLY organised tobacco smuggling operation run by a Chinese student couple in Adelaide has literally ended in tears in court on Tuesday, at least for one of them.
Hongtao Zhang wept in court on Tuesday as he was sentenced to four years and eight months jail after pleading guilty to dodging more than $460,000 in tax revenue by illegally importing almost 700,000 cigarettes into the state.
The whereabouts of his girlfriend Jie Li is unknown.
TBS, police hailed for crackdown on fake products
The Marketing Manager of Oryx Energies Tanzania, PenduBahebe, said the intervention by the state organs has significantly eradicated fake lubricants in the market.
“The police force and TBS have done a commendable job in fighting substandard products in the market and this is good news to traders of genuine lubricants,” he explained.
He urged the two organs to continue working closely with traders by carrying out frequent inspections to identify substandard grease in the market.
Contraband smokes creating series of problems
Think it doesn’t matter if that smoke you’re puffing was taxed?
Think again, says Gary Grant of the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco.
On an awareness tour through the Maritimes, he weighed in on the crime of contraband tobacco.
Grant said RCMP numbers show the vast majority of illicit tobacco sellers are also trading drugs and weapons. He estimates cigarettes fund the activities of more than 175 criminal gangs, including drugs, guns and human trafficking.
“Everyone in the community is a victim when organized crime starts selling tobacco and the other things they sell,” he told the Chronicle Herald Friday.
Two recent Nova Scotia arrests – including a June bust in Dartmouth of 80,000 illicit cigs brought in from Ontario and a July 26 seizure in Halifax of 118,000 illegal smokes – spotlight the problem, Grant said.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1384697-contraband-smokes-creating-series-of-problems
Lear MoreRs. 7.5 crore worth of cigarettes seized
Foreign branded cigarettes worth nearly Rs. 7.5 crore were seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday at the Inland Container Depot at Tughlaqabad.
The seizure was made by the Delhi zonal unit of DRI at the Tughlaqbad depot and cigarette sticks of popular foreign brands, numbering a total 53.4 lakh in the early hours of Saturday.
A total of 3,300 bags were seized that included High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) granules also.
The present case is the latest in a string of similar detections carried out by DRI in different parts of the country, a statement from the directorate said. These smuggled cigarettes do not conform to the statutory health warning prescribed for the sale of tobacco products in the domestic market, the statement said.
Fake expiry dates on products, buyers beware!
If there is anytime one need to be vigilante when shopping, it is now. Adulteration and product counterfeiting is not new but the modifying of manufactured and expiry dates of products to extend their shelf lives has escalated to an alarming level.
It cuts across most products, but the ones mostly affected are imported food products and cosmetics. One area that this crime has eaten deep into is imported cereals.
Just last week, three different people, living in different parts of Lagos contacted Consumer Watch to relate their experiences on this page so that readers will be more informed.
http://thenationonlineng.net/fake-expiry-dates-products-buyers-beware/
Lear MoreMinistry seizes 25,000 fake coffee sachets
The authorities have seized thousands of counterfeit “aphrodisiac coffee” sachets from several outlets here, acting on information from police.
State Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry deputy director HamzahMahadi said the items infringed a trademark and certification under Section 8 (2)(b) of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011.
Lear More
Cummins warns customers against counterfeit products
It said although some of the parts on the market appeared original, they were not Cummins engine parts, and may damage the vehicle’s engine leading to extra cost to owners and sometimes loss of productive hours.
The Aftermarket Leader for Cummins Ghana, Mr Isaac Budu, in a press release, said installing counterfeit parts may cause early failure which could result in unscheduled downtime and increased repair costs.
He said customers should therefore endeavour to purchase their parts from authorised Cummins distributors or dealers.
He said the mark of dependability that Cummins offered would continue to underpin its operations.
He cited the Cummins QSL19, QSK45-QSK78, KTA50, VTA, QSL and QXL-series diesel engine systems produced by the company as products that had stood the test of time and established credibility and trust.
Lear More
Fake sellers in Dubai go online to evade raids
Fake goods sellers are turning to WhatsApp and home deliveries to avoid being caught out in a renewed crackdown by the authorities.
Famed for their backroom collections of high-end knock-offs, the shop owners of Karama say they are now reluctant to keep handbags and watches on site.
Lear More