Gold smugglers switching over to cigarettes, currencies
In past 18 months, department of revenue intelligence has seized 50 containers of cigarettes, valued at nearly Rs 200 cr.
With the channel set three years ago to import gold illegally into the country not giving enough returns to cover the risk involved, operators of these channels – the smugglers, in simple words – are now increasingly switching over to illegal import of cigarettes. This is because of the “much higher RoI (return on investment)”, according to intelligence officials. The cost of a Rs 10 cigarette typically goes up to Rs 220 if imported legally. That is the margin the smugglers can corner, since they don’t pay import duty. Even if they pass on some of the benefit from the evaded duty, they still make a good amount of profit.
Among other items these dealers are focusing on for unofficial imports are foreign currencies, especially those of West Asian countries.
Enforcing IPR Can Save Piracy
Louise Van Greunen, director, World Intellectual Property Organisation, talks about counterfeiting and the need for enforcing IPR.
Q: What are the global challenges in enforcing the IPR?
A: The enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) is crucial for building a sound system of IP protection. Ensuring the effectiveness of enforcement of IPR that is sustainable is a challenge in itself. Therefore, a major challenge is to ensure smooth dialogue and cooperation between various stakeholders. In the globalised world, international cooperation between law enforcement agencies, custom authorities, and judicial authorities is a big challenge.
http://www.businessworld.in/article/-Enforcing-IPR-Can-Save-Piracy-/29-01-2016-90708/
Lear MoreOSRAM in fight against lamp fakes
The increasingly high incidence of fake OSRAM Xenon (HID) light sources has led the company to introduce a system that enables consumers to easily check them out. Aimed at drivers whose cars use these types of lamp, this new facility is called the Trust Program, and it is designed to ensure that drivers do not have to suffer from premature bulb failures or poor headlight beams.Fake and counterfeited products, many of them from China, have been a serious and growing problem for years. Any counterfeit product is likely to be poor quality, but the problem is much more serious for electrical products because fakes – apart from not working well (or at all) – are often potentially or actually dangerous.Two-step security check; OSRAM says that its headlight bulbs (‘light sources’ are called ‘bulbs’ for consumers) are continually being copied illegally by product pirates. So, to protect consumers from low-quality fakes, the company has launched its own Trust Program. This uses a two-step security check, enabling consumers to easily verify whether the lamps they have bought are OSRAM originals that have been manufactured in accordance with international quality and safety standards.
http://www.voltimum.co.uk/articles/osram-fight-against-lamp-fakes
Lear MoreSmuggled cigarettes pour into Vietnam from Cambodia ahead of Lunar New Year holiday
Large volumes of cigarettes are being smuggled from Cambodia to Vietnam as the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday approaches, despite Vietnamese authorities’ efforts to deter the situation.Officers in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang have recently busted the largest ever cigarette smuggling operation, confiscating 18,500 packs of tobacco, Colonel Le Quoc Viet, captain of the local border guards, affirmed on Wednesday.At 9:00 pm on Tuesday, police spotted two speedboats with suspicious signs traveling from Cambodia to Vietnam in the waters off of An Phu District, An Giang. They decided to surround the targets and carry out an inspection.Four suspects quickly escaped after they noticed the officers, leaving behind their boats loaded with smuggled cigarettes, worth a combined value of VND320 million (US$14,345), according to local police.The suspects gathered their illegal goods in Takeo Province, Cambodia then disguised themselves as fishery product traders to enter Vietnam, officers said.
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Hair salon owners jailed for smuggling 2.5 tons of tobacco into UK
Two hair salon owners who smuggled 2.5 tons of tobacco into the UK in a £450,000 tax fraud have been jailed.Mohammed Kattany, 37, director of Unique Hairdressers in Bramhall, hid smuggled fruit-flavored tobacco from Dubai in freight imports, postal parcels and his own luggage.He was assisted by accomplice Ahmed Al-Salaima, 33, who owned Snipz hairdressers in Withington.Both men were arrested in July 2013 after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators seized illegal tobacco at the Port of Felixstowe, Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport.The smuggling attempts were traced back to companies or addresses associated with Kattany and Al-Salaima.Manchester Crown Court heard Kattany was also the owner of Sweet and Salt, on Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. He used both businesses in the smuggling attempts.Kattany would make multiple trips abroad, often to Dubai, in order to arrange the smuggling consignments and was caught with undeclared tobacco products in his own luggage at customs in the UK.Al-Salaima would use Snipz to deliver and distribute the illegal tobacco into smaller vans.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/hair-salon-owners-jailed-smuggling-10799504
WHITEPAPER – Anti-Counterfeiting Measures: RFID is The New Weapon in the Fight Against Counterfeiting
According to recent estimates from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), counterfeit goods may cost the economy up to $250 billion a year (1). This is a global epidemic to be sure, with several millions of these products being shipped to the United States every year.
Often when we think of counterfeit items, consumer goods such as high-end jewelry or handbags come to mind. Not only does this cost retailers billions of dollars each year, but we as consumers are also at risk. Imagine lacing up your brand new Air Jordan’s before a game only to realize that you paid the top-dollar for knockoffs worth only a fraction of their cost to you. Frustrating to say the least. Maddening if you think about it long enough. How about life-threatening? Probably a bridge too far for a pair of sneakers, but counterfeiting effects industries that can have a direct impact on our health and safety, as well.
In this paper, we’ll highlight some of the major counterfeiting problem areas, particularly in the healthcare and medical industries, and discuss how RFID is gaining popularity as a top anti-counterfeiting measure.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized nearly $80 million in counterfeit pharmaceuticals and personal care products last year (2). In this case, counterfeiting can have life-threatening consequences especially in developing countries that lack the regulatory and policing resources of the United States. For instance, The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 200,000 people die each year due to ineffective and substandard malaria drugs that don’t clear a patient’s system of the active parasite.
Wealthy countries are also at risk. Although, many counterfeited drugs in North America can be categorized as “lifestyle” drugs such as Viagra, rather than life-saving drugs, some claim that the legitimate supply chain has been compromised. Roger Bate, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and expert on counterfeit prescription drugs says “You could go into a CVS or a Walgreens to fill your prescription for whatever it may be—it could be for a heart medication, a cancer drug, an antibiotic—and you could be killed by that medicine.”
Lear MoreVinh Long seizes 2000 fake helmets
VINH LONG (VNS) — A market inspection team discovered a home-based facility mass producing falsely labelled helmets yesterday in Tam Binh District of this southern province.Authorities seized over 2,000 finished counterfeit helmets, two drilling machines, presses and raw materials, as well as the components used in manufacturing helmets, such as foam, straps and stamps.The owner of the house, Nguyen Quoc Thong, revealed that the facility had been leased by Nguyen Van Trieu from Thanh Quoi Commune, Long Ho District. Initially, Trieu said he had leased the house for storing goods, until some other people joined them with machines, hiring another house in the commune as a space for painting helmets. The facility has six employees who assemble and paint the helmets.The production machines used at the facility are very crude. There is insufficient sponge on the inside of the helmets.
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/281757/vinh-long-seizes-2000-fake-helmets.html
Lear MoreFake hoverboards: Chicago customs officers seize more than 16,000 counterfeits
Customs officers in Chicago have seized at least 16,000 counterfeit hoverboards they say can pose a serious safety risk.Authorities continue to process more than 42,000 boxes of what they believe to be fake hoverboards. The substandard products – enough to fill two warehouses – were seized in just one week in January. “We were holding two-thirds of an air freight cargo plane with just hoverboards on hold. Two-thirds and then plane after plane after plane for a week,” said James Putman, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.This is the largest seizure of its kind since hoverboards first hit store shelves in the United States. The self-balancing scooters are so expensive that manufacturers – especially in China – have been cutting corners to get them to consumers at a cheaper price. “The batteries do not meet safety standards. The chargers as well,” said William Ferrara, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
http://abc7chicago.com/news/fake-hoverboards-seized-by-customs-officers-in-chicago/1176421/
Lear MoreNew Brunswick Must Continue Action Against Contraband Tobacco
Today, the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) encouraged the government of New Brunswick to continue to increase action against the province’s growing contraband tobacco problem in next week’s provincial budget.”Illegal cigarettes are a growing and significant problem in New Brunswick,” said Gary Grant, a 39-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service and national spokesperson for the NCACT. “Just last week, RCMP in the province highlighted that there has been little change in the flow of smuggled tobacco into the province. If anything, the criminals are adapting their smuggling networks to limit large seizures. That’s a reminder that this is big business for criminal gangs, and they are going to do what it takes to preserve it.”The RCMP has indicated that smugglers have adapted to smaller shipments to avoid large busts, like that in late November where more than 1.5 million cigarettes were seized near Val-Doucet, along with guns and illicit alcohol.
MPs probe further on cigarette smuggling
AKEL MP IriniCharalambidou on Tuesday questioned the customs department’s decision to ask the attorney-general to suspend prosecution of individuals implicated in a cigarette smuggling case in 2009 because they could not locate them.The House Watchdog Committee discussed the matter on Tuesday and questions were raised about the handling of two cases by the customs department.The MP said they were surprised to see a letter from customs asking for the prosecution of three individuals and a company to be suspended supposedly because they could not locate the defendants to deliver the charge sheets.PetrosClerides, who was attorney-general at the time, wrote to customs on July 26, 2013, noting that “it is very strange that delivering the charge sheets was not possible” considering that it was a well known company and the individuals were very well known members of Cypriot society.
http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/01/26/mps-probe-further-on-cigarette-smuggling/
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