Warning vs fake medicine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the public about a fake variant of a fruit punch-flavored antibiotic being sold in the market. In an advisory, the FDA said it had confirmed that Klaricid Clarithromycin 250mg/5ml granules for suspension in fruit punch flavor No. L7877, supposedly manufactured in Canada, is a counterfeit drug after Abbott Laboratories Philippines compared it with the registered drug.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/679084/warning-vs-fake-medicine
Serial tobacco smuggler caught sneaking 12,600 cigarettes into Heathrow
A serial tobacco smuggler from Wembley has dodged an immediate prison sentence after being picked up by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at Heathrow Airport. Kamal Sobhi was stopped and arrested on January 8 smuggling 12,600 cigarettes and almost 9.5kg of shisha tobacco through the airport when he arrived on a flight from Beirut, Lebanon. He was charged with tobacco smuggling under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and admitted to the offence at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday (March 12).
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/serial-tobacco-smuggler-caught-sneaking-8837594
Lear MoreLocals Make Grab for Confiscated Fakes Slated for Destruction in China
The level of counterfeiting in China is widely known—it’s enormous. In a recent episode in eastern China, authorities tried to destroy over 30 tonnes of substandard and fake products, but found they were overwhelmed by a grasping public, who came to collect their own haul before it could be destroyed.
This took place on March 11, when the municipal government in Xuzhou city, one of the largest cities in the prosperous Jiangsu Province on China’s coast, announced that it had accumulated 35.7 tonnes of counterfeit products worth over 285,000 yuan (about $45,487)—and would soon set about destroying them.
Name brand OEM factories in China make real and fake alike
Up to 80% of luxury goods sold on China’s online platforms are reportedly knockoffs, many of which come from legitimate OEM factories of the brands, reports China’s Tencent news outlet. An unnamed source told Tencent that many of the luxury goods on online overseas shopping platforms are fake. Zhou Ting, an expert in the field, said that according to a study in 2013, 80% of the luxury items sold online in China are counterfeit. Most of these items cost one-tenth to one-fourth of the real item’s tag price.
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20150315000098&cid=1502
Lear More
Ireland seen as ‘easy target’ for international smugglers
International gangs consider Ireland an easy target for smuggling, and will continue to operate here if stricter measures are not enforced, a retail group has warned. Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS), which represents around 3,000 shops in Ireland, made the claim following the publication of Revenue’s latest list of defaulters. The list, which covers the final quarter of 2014, shows that the majority of those convicted for cigarette smuggling were foreign nationals.
Lear More
Counterfeits go counterless
In the recent past, luxury products were seen as displays of wealth. Today, it could only mean the person knows the right Instagram account offering counterfeit bags and shoes. Such stores have grown by leaps and bounds over recent years, along with the rise in online shopping. Last year, French luxury products group LVMH and internet search engine Google agreed to work together to fight the online sales of counterfeit goods. The agreement ends nearly a decade of litigation over…
http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/496689/counterfeits-go-counterless
Lear MoreExcise tax hike on cigarettes irrational choice for Washington
The Washington Legislature appears again poised to go to the cigarette excise tax well. A proposal to hike the state’s excise tax by another 50 cents — to $3.52 per pack — would exacerbate an already large smuggling problem and offer little in the way of gains to public health.
We have created a statistical model to measure the degree to which cigarette smuggling occurs in most American states. Through 2013, our model reported that Washington had the third-highest smuggling rate among 47 states. Our estimate shows that, of all the cigarettes consumed in Washington that year, 46.4 percent were obtained as a result of tax evasion or avoidance. The state’s smuggling rate would be four points higher if we did not subtract out cigarette smuggling exports going to Canada.
http://watchdog.org/205831/excise-tax-hike-cigarettes-irrational-choice-washington/
Lear More
Express & Star investigates: How bootleg cigarettes help fund terrorism
Huge profits from smokers who buy cheap and illegal cigarettes are ending up in the hands of criminal gangs and terrorists. Those who buy counterfeit and illegal tobacco are almost universally oblivious to the fact that they are part of an elaborate criminal network inflicting pain and misery on innocent people all over the world. Cheap and counterfeit tobacco made in unregulated factories across the world has flooded the market in the Black Country, with up to 50 per cent of loose tobacco now believed to be fake.
The United Nations Security Council’s investigative body has found that millions of pounds in illicit tobacco revenues are reaching al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist organisations.
Undercover investigators highlight illicit tobacco trade in Gateshead
Illegal cigarettes seized as part of a raid on Tyneside could contain human faeces, rat droppings or dead flies. A team of undercover investigators uncovered “widespread” trade in illicit tobacco on a two-day visit to Gateshead. Former Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Will O’Reilly led the test purchase operation on Tuesday and Wednesday across the borough. Since November 2011, Will has been conducting the research on behalf of Philip Morris International (PMI) – the global cigarette and tobacco company, which includes Marlboro among its products – to check on new counterfeits and to raise economic and health issues related to the black market.
Lear More
Venezuela to install 20,000 fingerprint readers to curb food smuggling
CARACAS: The Venezuelan government will install 20,000 fingerprint recognition readers to prevent smugglers from purchasing goods in the country at lower prices with the intention of reselling them on the black market.
Previously reported, the Venezuelan government first announced last August it would soon introduce fingerprint scanners at supermarkets in an effort to ration individuals’ food purchases and prevent food smuggling.
In December it was noted that the government had ordered thousands of Suprema BioMini fingerprint solutions, including BioMini Slim, for grocery stores and pharmacies located close to the Colombian border.
http://customstoday.com.pk/venezuela-to-install-20000-fingerprint-readers-to-curb-food-smuggling-2/
Lear More