Man gets year in prison for smuggling cigarettes from Missouri
A Chicago man has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling black market cigarettes into Illinois from Missouri. Johnell E. Henderson, 36, was arrested May 15, 2013, after a traffic stop by Illinois State Police, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Revenue. Henderson was caught with about 1,470 packages of Newport 100 cigarettes, bought in Missouri, the department said. IDOR agents determined he was not authorized to possess or transport the cigarettes.
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Inmate charged in smuggling try
Another Pulaski County jail prisoner has been arrested in connection with the April 23 attempted smuggling of contraband into the lockup, according to an arrest report.
Robert Timothy Thompson, 45, of 24007 W. Arkansas 107, Lot 2, in Jacksonville was arrested at the Pulaski County sheriff’s office at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, the report said. Thompson was charged with eight counts of use of a communication device in the commission of a felony, and one count each of criminal attempt to possess marijuana, criminal attempt to possess methamphetamine and criminal attempt to possess drug paraphernalia.
Lear MoreBOC files smuggling complaint against steel traders
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday filed a smuggling complaint against two traders and brokers for the illegal importation of steel products worth P3.98 million in 2013 and 2014.
Named in the complaint were Thunder Birds Trading owner Shine Montes, Sagfern International Trading owner Judy Fernandez and customs brokers Arnel Asuncion and ShielaLarrochea. It is the first complaint filed under new Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina.
“There was a very clear intent to cheat the government given the huge discrepancies in what they declared and what we found after examining their shipment,” Lina said.
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Counterfeits are on the rise, says Europol
More and more fakes are arriving in Europe from Asia, while domestic production is also on the rise, according to Europol’s 2015 counterfeiting report.The report is a collaborative effort between Europol and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.
Domestic EU counterfeit production is on the rise, according to the report, with cases originating in Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain and the UK.The report states the production of counterfeit goods in the EU is becoming “an increasingly profitable business” for criminal groups.
http://ipprotheinternet.com/ipprotheinternetnews/article.php?article_id=4363#.VUhz-o6qqko
Lear MoreHow to protect your bike brand against counterfeiters
How big is the counterfeiting problem in the bike trade? In an industry notoriously poor at collecting valuable statistics, it is hard to know for sure, but potentially dangerous knock-offs certainly are an issue, including infamous fakes like Chinarellos.
Patent and trade mark attorneys Appleyard Lees has some nuggets of wisdom on protecting against counterfeiting within the bike industry, via senior associate Robert Cumming and associate Chris Hoole…
Brands that want to maintain their reputation, and not risk getting dropped from the peleton, will implement a brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategy.
Lear MoreFirm Warns Against Use Of Fake Electrical Products
A meter manufacturing firm, MOMAS Nigeria Limited Lagos, has urged the relevant agencies to urgently save Nigerians of millions of Naira arising from frequent replacement of fake electrical materials.
Chairman of the company, Mr Kola Balogun, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos on Friday.Balogun said that the high rate of fake electrical equipment in the country could be responsible for the increasing fire outbreak in homes.
http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2015/04/29/firm-warns-against-use-of-fake-electrical-products/
Lear MoreCustoms, health officials suspected of shielding smugglers of tainted food: agency
The Agency Against Corruption yesterday revealed that Yang Jun-yuan an official of the Taipei Customs of Customs Administration and Chang En-shuo, an official of the Taoyuan City Department of Public Health have allegedly been covering up for merchants smuggling tainted food products from Japan and Thailand into Taiwan.
The AAC was tipped off yesterday that illegal food products have been released onto the market with support from government officials. The AAC then discovered that three companies have imported more than 6,000 kilograms of unlicensed agricultural products into the nation, with a total market value of NT$10 million. They said that most products may have already been consumed.
Lear MoreCounterfeit goods killing Ghanaian companies
The Ghana Employers Association (GEA) says counterfeit goods are destroying indigenous Ghanaian companies.A survey by the association has identified weak legal framework for the management and protection of intellectual property in Ghana as a major cause.
The study conducted by the GEA in 2014 further revealed that the pharmaceutical and textile industries faced the brunt with huge losses in jobs and revenue.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/artikel.php?ID=355963
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Anti-counterfeiting technology: news in brief
Chinese radiofrequency identification (RFID) specialist Invengo officially launched its XC-TF8033 security label outside for the first time at the RFID Journal Live event earlier this month. The tamper-resistant labels are already in use in China for the authentication of whisky, wine and tobacco products. They have been optimised for use on plastic wine bottle caps, paper documents, paper boxes and glass items and according to Invengo provide “excellent data read and write performance, maximum application flexibility and cost effectiveness.”
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Invisible inks identify fake products from your phone
Scientists in the US have developed sophisticated fluorescent inks which they believe could be used by consumers to spot a fake product just by taking a photo on their smartphone.
Researchers at Northwestern University have come up with inks, which can be printed using an inkjet printer, and are invisible under normal light. However, they can be seen under ultraviolet light and could be stamped as barcodes or QR codes “on anything from banknotes and bottles of whisky to luxury handbags and expensive cosmetics, providing proof of authenticity”.
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