Contraband Cigarettes, Chewing Tobacco Seized
More than S$100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes and chewing tobacco were seized by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers within a span of eight hours on Wednesday (July 29) and Thursday, said the ICA today. The seized items, from three cases of attempted smuggling at Woodlands Checkpoint and Tuas Checkpoint, totalled 423 cartons of contraband cigarettes and 20,542 sachets of chewing tobacco. The total duty as well as Goods and Services Tax evaded exceeded S$88,000 and S$7,000 respectively, said the ICA. The first attempt occurred on July 29, at about 11.15pm, at Woodlands Checkpoint. Five boxes containing containing contraband cigarettes and two pails of chewing tobacco — totalling 125 cartons of contraband cigarettes and 2,400 sachets of chewing tobacco — were found hidden in the luggage compartment of an empty Malaysia-registered bus.
Lear MoreTobacco smugglers jailed
A Lancashire father and son, who attempted to steal £229,000 in tax by smuggling illegal cigarettes and tobacco into the UK, were jailed this week at Manchester Crown Court.
http://www.forecourttrader.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/10097/Tobacco_smugglers_jailed.html
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Lack of compliance to UNBS laws
LACK of complying with existing laws under the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and stipulated standards has led to the increased usage of counterfeit materials, Martin Imalingat the manager quality assurance has revealed. Imalingat explained that as UNBS, they have laws and set standards intended to fight the importation or manufacturing of counterfeit goods on the market but most consumers and suppliers are not aware about them. “We have the laws and standards in place but most consumers are suppliers are not aware about them, this has highly contributed to the selling and use of counterfeit goods and materials,” he said. He added that even some government officials were not aware of the existing laws and standards yet they are the ones who are supposed to implement them. He added that it was unfair to make the standard laws when they can’t be put to use them to certify products.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/671615-lack-of-compliance-to-unbs-laws-fueling-counterfeits.html
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Trader guilty of trying to sell fake cigarettes
Abdullah Al-Taaei, 48, of Kennington, was due to stand trial on July 6 at the Inner London Crown Court, but pleaded guilty before the trial got underway. The offences took place in March 2014 and concerned more than 82,000 cigarettes as well as hand rolling tobacco, sold at East Street Market, in Southwark. The court heard that following an anonymous tip-off, Al-Taaei had been subject to surveillance by Southwark Council’s trading standard team over a three month period in early 2014. Officers saw Mr Al-Taaei leaving a flat in SE1 for East Street market with a rucksack and shopping bag trolley. CCTV footage from the market showed that these contained cigarettes and tobacco, which he appeared to sell.
Lear MoreFakes, phonies and frauds
As the world has grown smaller, more and more foreign-made goods are hitting our shores, according to Consumer Reports. Among them, you will find a flood of fakes, fueled in part by the Internet and the ease with which we can buy products directly.Last year, United States law enforcement agencies — including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations — shut down 29,684 websites that were illegally selling counterfeit merchandise online. Not only do fakes cost U.S. businesses as much as $250 billion in lost trade annually, but many are also downright dangerous.
http://elkodaily.com/news/fakes-phonies-and-frauds/article_406d683c-482c-51ba-9d27-057bdbe583ad.html
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Cigarette smuggling is injurious to India
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai seized 60.76 sticks of smuggled cigarettes worth Rs 4.24 crore at India’s biggest port – JNPT in last 24 hours. In this case, total three persons has been detained and one appraiser – Rishi Ranjan has been suspended for “reportedly cleared the container without examination.” As one of the container was about to go out of continental CFS NhavaSheva, DRI intercepted on a tip off and seized the consignment. These smuggled cigarettes were hidden in the cover of cargo trolley bag. Investigation is still under process and nobody has been arrested till now. In last six months, dozens of cigarette smuggling cases has been intercepted by the DRI and Customs officials in India. In one of the largest seizures in recent times, the DRI seized total 3.21 crore smuggled cigarettes sticks of multiple brands, worth Rs 23.29 crore at Adani Hazira Port near Surat city. These cigarettes were brought from Dubai in two cartons and polyethylene bags. The cigarettes were brought from Dubai. The brands are strawberry-flavoured Luvin Fresh, clove-flavoured Djarum Black and Gudang Garam
Lear MoreYou could be taking fake medicine.
The Health Ministry’s Pharmacy Enforcement Division (PED) conducts interactive exhibitions and public lectures, and works closely with the Education Ministry to disseminate information to students on the health risks posed by unregistered health products.”To combat the sale of counterfeit medicines in Malaysia, enforcement officers carry out routine and scheduled inspections, entry-point checking, market sampling, and conduct raids to seize and confiscate unregistered products,” says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.PED is involved in Operation Pangea, Interpol’s annual cooperative effort with law enforcement and customs agents from throughout the globe, which targets illicit drug trafficking through the Internet.
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Cigarette Tax Fallout
It’s been nearly one month since Nevada’s cigarette excise tax increase went into effect, raising the average pack price from $5 to $6. The $1 per pack tax hike represents the state’s largest single cigarette-tax increase and its first tax hike since 2003. Not surprisingly, tobacco retailers are concerned about what this means for business. “I think it (cigarette use) will decline, it will decline substantially,” Steve Moran, director of business enterprise and economic development for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony (a major tobacco player in the state) told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “This is a substantial increase (in taxes).” Retailers in Kansas have expressed similar concerns after lawmakers enacted a similar excise tax increase in June, increasing cigarette taxes by 63% (from 79 cents per pack to $1.29 per pack). The Kansas tax revenue is slotted to cover a $400 million budget deficit, while Nevada’s additional revenue will likely go towards a $1.3 billion increase in educational funding.
http://www.cspnet.com/category-news/tobacco/articles/kansas-nevada-brace-cigarette-tax-fallout
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Tobacco Smuggling Trial Through Manchester Airport
Two friends from Liverpool attempted to evade over £50,000 in tax by smuggling cigarettes and tobacco through Manchester airport. Ahmed Barakat, 34, and Elaine Wright, 54, were investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), after being caught at the airport by Border Force officers earlier this year. In January 2015, the pair arrived on the same flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and appeared to be travelling separately with other parties. Barakat was stopped and was found to have 103,000 cigarettes and 13.5 kilos hand rolling tobacco (HRT) in his luggage. Wright was then caught with 21,400 cigarettes and five kilos HRT in her luggage –despite the personal allowance for cigarettes from Egypt being 200. During his interview with HMRC investigators, Barakat admitted he was trying to evade excise duty and tax so he could sell the cigarettes for profit in the UK
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-pair-tried-smuggle-103000-9752550
Lear MoreGolf Anti-Counterfeiting Group Continues Fight
Now in its second decade of working with law enforcement to limit the spread of counterfeit golf products, the U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group (The Golf Group) experienced strong successes in the first half of 2015, collaborating with Chinese officials to conduct five raids and witnessing the sentencing of several convicted counterfeiters. During the raids, authorities found more than 1,100 counterfeit golf products and obtained computer records of numerous online sales, adding to an impressive total of more than one million products seized by law enforcement since the group’s inception in 2004.
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