Illegal tobacco factory discovered in Sevilla
THE largest illegal cigarette factory ever found in Spain has been busted by Guardia Civil. Ten people in Andalucia have been arrested for their role in producing around 65,000 packets of cigarettes per day at the illegal factory in Sevilla. Thirty tonnes of illegal tobacco and 64,500 packs of cigarettes ready for sale to the public were discovered when Guardia Civil raided homes, industrial premises and plots of land in the north of the province.
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Foreign vs. local tobacco in the Middle East
Banner Icon HEALTH Tobacco consumption in the region is notoriously high. Smoking is everywhere. But who’s running this powerful industry? Bassam Aoun investigates.
One of the most prolific industries currently operating in the Middle East and North Africa is big tobacco. This market seems immune to the roller coaster that is business life in the region, hardly affected by the socio-political risks that tend to keep investors at bay. While major tobacco product importers, such as British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Philip Morris International, dominate the market, there in fact exist several competing local players vying for their share of the pie.
http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/business/foreign-vs-local-tobacco-in-the-middle-east_29245
Lear MoreStrict IP laws urged to attract investments and technology
Although Qatar’s intellectual property (IP) laws and regulations are on a par with other countries of the region, it needs to enact stricter laws to attract foreign investments and technology, according to a senior official of a local consultancy specialising in IP-related matters. New laws will also meet challenges faced by the owners of industrial properties, said Hussain Al Obaidly, Managing Director, Alpha& Co IP. “Qatar being the host 2022 FIFA World Cup, there is a huge inflow of investments and those intending to establish business in the country would want that their IP rights are protected to the fullest,” Al Obaidly said.
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Study backs organised crime links to counterfeit medicines
Pills on a mapA study of counterfeits of a single medicine brand has found similarities that suggest one organised, criminal organisation is likely behind the trade. That is the conclusion drawn by scientists from pharma company Roche and the Institute of Forensic Science in Switzerland, who systematically profiled samples of the unnamed capsule product taken from 33 separate seizures around the world between 2004 and 2013.
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Rs10K Fine on Firm for Fake Fuel Saver
CHENNAI: A Coimbatore-based company that promoted the spurious product, ‘Mile Man’, claiming to increase vehicle mileage, was penalised by a District Consumer Forum following a complaint from a consumer in the metro.Lured by television promotions which claimed ‘Mile Man’ to be an ‘innovative’ product that would reduce fuel consumption of two-wheelers by up to 50 per cent, C Senthil Lakshmi, of Anna Nagar bought it for `3,300 and fixed it on her two-wheeler.
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China seizes 210,000 tonnes of smuggled rice
Chinese customs seized more than 210,000 tonnes of smuggled rice in 2014, worth 1.26 billion yuan (205 million U.S. dollars), an official said Saturday.
Zhu Feng, deputy head of the anti-smuggling bureau of the General Administration of Customs (GAC), said the GAC cracked 467 cases concerning rice last year in a special campaign against the smuggling of agricultural products.
The campaign was dubbed “Green Wind”, and mainly targeting grains, frozen meat products, sugar, cotton and cooking oil.
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Cigarette smuggling is red hot in Illinois, and taxes are to blame
Illinois’ cigarette-smuggling rank jumped the most out of any state studied in a new report issued by the MackinacCenter for Public Policy.Illinois’ smuggling rank among 47 states leapt to 14th worst in 2013, up from 30th worst in 2012 – a move of 16 places in the wrong direction. The study authors attributed this “sizeable increase” to recent excise-tax hikes.
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‘Price to blame’ as seizures of illegal cigarettes soar
Customs report major rise in seizures of contraband tobacco
Customs officers have reported major increases in illegal tobacco seizures after confiscating 53m contraband cigarettes and 9,836kg of roll-your-own tobacco worth nearly €30m last year.
The number of cigarettes seized was considerably up on the 40.8m confiscated in 2013. There was also a notable increase in roll-your-own tobacco seizures, which accounted for 4,203kg in 2013.
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Fake organic brands thrive under FSSAI
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been issued a legal notice by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) for issuing the ‘organic’ certificate and logo to companies caught cheating consumers. The federation, in its notice on January 3 , has blamed the food authority for letting “fake, wrongly labelled and misbranded organic products” deceive millions of consumers in India.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fake-organic-brands-thrive-under-fssai/1/413520.html
Lear MoreLargest Underground Cigarette Factory Dismantled in Spain
SEVILLE, Spain – Spanish security forces on Wednesday dismantled the largest underground cigarette factory in the country in an operation in which 10 people were arrested.The illegal factory, located in the city of Seville, had a production capacity of 65,000 cigarette packs per day.
Police sources explained that authorities confiscated 30 tons of tobacco, in addition to 64,500 cigarette packs ready for sale, following investigations that started last June.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2369458&CategoryId=12396
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