News

Consumer Reports uncovers counterfeit tires case

Consumer Reports, the nation’s largest independent consumer publication, annually buys tires at random to test and rate for its readers.
But last year, strictly at random, Consumer Reports uncovered a flagrant case of tire counterfeiting, the publication’s tire program manager told attendees of the 31st annual Clemson University Global Tire Industry Conference. “We didn’t say, “Let’s go out and find some counterfeit tires,’ “ Eugene Peterson said in his presentation at the conference, held April 15-17 at Hilton Head, S.C. “We said, “Let’s test some tires,’ and one of those tires just happened to be counterfeit.”

http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20150511/NEWS/305049990/consumer-reports-uncovers-counterfeit-tires-case

Over 2,500 cartons of smuggled cigarettes seized

In a major haul of non-duty paid goods by the Customs Department in recent times, foreign cigarettes worth about Rs 25 lakh were seized along with Indian-made ones valued at nearly Rs 16 lakh from a shop-cum-warehouse in One-Town here on Saturday.
Two persons, who claimed to be wholesale traders, have been detained for allegedly violating the provisions of Customs Act, 1962. Besides, the cigarette packs did not have statutory pictorial warnings on them, which amounted to violation of the Tobacco Products Act, 2008.
According to official sources, cigarette imports are allowed into the country with prior permission and on payment of customs duty but in the present case the procedures were not complied.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/over-2500-cartons-of-smuggled-cigarettes-seized/article7189254.ece

Sheriff’s deputy accused of smuggling drugs into prison

An Orleans Parish Sheriff’s deputy has been arrested and fired on suspicion of smuggling contraband to inmates inside the parish prison.
27-year-old Rubin Robertson was arrested Thursday and charged with six counts of introducing contraband into a correctional facility. Robertson had been a deputy with the agency for 10 months.
According to his arrest affidavit, investigators who searched Robertson’s vehicle Wednesday found 1 gram of marijuana, 4 dosage units of Hydrocodone, and tobacco “repackaged in a manner which allow concealment into a correctional facility.”

Nigeria: SON reduces substandard products to 45% in three years

The Standard Organisation on Nigeria said it was able to reduce the level of substandard products in the country from a staggering 85 per cent to 45 per cent between March 2011 and November 2014.
Dr. Joseph Odumodu, Director General SON, said on Thursday at the 2nd Lagos NIPR Stakeholders Conference with the theme, ‘The Nigerian Consumer Right and Obligations’ held at the University of Lagos, that to tackle the menace of substandard products importation, production, storage and distribution demanded the merging of the Enforcement, Ports and Border Operation Units into a full directorate now called ‘Inspectorate and Compliance Directorate (ICD).

http://worldstagegroup.com/index.php?active=news&newscid=22196&catid=28

Michael LaFaive and Todd Nesbit: R.I. set to lose tobacco revenue

The Rhode Island General Assembly is working toward a budget vote that may — among other things — raise excise taxes on cigarettes by 25 cents per pack. The increase will prove counterproductive from both a revenue and public health standpoint.
We first estimated a statistical model in 2008 to measure the degree to which cigarettes are smuggled. It covers most American states and has since been updated with tax and population changes through 2013. Our model tells us that through 2013 Rhode Island’s total smuggling rate is almost 32 percent of the total cigarette market.

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150508/OPINION/150509392/2011

AP Exclusive: Chinese banks a haven for web counterfeits

Kim Sbarcea knew exactly what she wanted. She typed “Tiffany Elsa Peretti mesh earrings” into Google and scrolled through impeccable photos of the delicate $450 diamond-shaped earrings until she chanced upon a pair for — deal of deals! — $32.
The website, tiffany-outletsale.com, looked legit and Sbarcea assumed Tiffany & Co. would not let an unauthorized site use its name. Besides, she could pay by credit card.

RFID and AIDC News: Northwestern University Researchers Claim Breakthrough in Invisible Inks to Thwart Counterfeiting

Researchers and brand companies have been chasing the use of various types of invisible inks to thwart counterfeiting for more than two decades. SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore, for example, says he was tangentially connected to a research project on invisible inks for product verification led by the well-known Battelle Institute in Columbus, OH in the mid-1990s, and research has continued on ever since.
Each application of the ink can be made with a custom formula known only to the producer, which makes it especially hard to copy and suitable for precise identification techniques.
In fact, the idea to identify true goods from counterfeit ones goes back at least until the 13th century, when watermarks were invented to authenticate original documents. Ever since then, printers and forgers/counterfeiters have been in an arms race to out-do each other.

http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/15-05-07-1.php?cid=9268&ctype=content