News

Customs seize seven tonnes of tobacco at port of Purfleet

AN attempt to smuggle almost seven tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco into the UK through the Port of Purfleet has been prevented by Border Force officers. The 6.93 tonnes, one of the largest ever seizures made at the port, had been shipped to the UK from Belgium inside a trailer whose contents had been listed as simply “pallets”. Had the smuggling attempt proved successful it would have cost the Treasury approximately £1.77m in unpaid duty.

Md. cigarette taxes have unintended consequences

In recent years, Maryland has substantially raised tobacco taxes. Its current rates of $2 for a pack of cigarettes and 15 percent to 70 percent for other tobacco products like cigars are among the highest in the country. The state enjoys a huge revenue gain from the taxes, but there are ironies and unintended consequences associated with the taxes on tobacco products that may not have been adequately considered. The state itself sends out mixed messages regarding tobacco and cigarettes. On the one hand, it acknowledges the health concerns associated with tobacco products and agrees with health advocates who say taxing cigarettes higher is the right thing to do. So-called sin taxes increase costs with the idea of encouraging smokers to quit and discouraging teenagers from starting the habit

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-cigarette-tax-20141216-story.html

Counterfeit refrigerants ‘potentially dangerous’

Residents in Saudi Arabia are concerned about potentially dangerous counterfeit refrigerants which are increasingly found in the Middle East, a new survey released Satuday by Honeywell revealed.

Counterfeit refrigerants are a dangerous, persistent problem around the world.

After several containers carrying counterfeit refrigerants exploded in 2012, the United Nations Environment Program said that counterfeit refrigerants “appear to be a global issue of concern and a wider range of stakeholders are possibly at risk.”

Cornwall-based Regional Task Force charges five with tobacco-smuggling offences

The Cornwall-based Regional Task Force made a series of tobacco-smuggling arrests through November and the beginning of this month as it continues to police trafficking along the Canada-U.S. border.In the first incident on Nov. 3, a boat with two occupants travelled into a Bainsville area bay of lake St. Francis. The boat did not have navigational lights on.

Task force members swooped in after noticing a white Ford van backing up towards the shoreline and a number of cardboard boxes and one man next to them. A second man was found inside the van with more boxes, which turned out to be 80 boxes of contraband tobacco.

Warning for farm exports, as Chinese counterfeiters rip off Aussie products

An Australian farmer who has been exporting to China is pulling his product out of the market over counterfeit concerns. His move comes as Australian agriculture eyes the fresh opportunities of exporting to China under the recently agreed free trade agreement. Victorian producer David Blackmore, of Blackmore Wagyu Beef, has been selling his product to high-end restaurants in China for several years, but has recently become aware of counterfeit products being passed off as his beef, which fetches a premium price.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-15/nrn-chinese-counterfeits-for-monday/5961030

Black market for illicit tobacco in Devon and Cornwall puts squeeze on already hard-pressed families

A black market in illicit tobacco is engulfing Devon and Cornwall, funding organised crime, damaging health and causing tax hikes for already hard-pressed families.  In a covert operation, special detectives from the tobacco industry have discovered that either smuggled or illegally produced tobacco is available in every corner of the region from small villages to major towns. Former Scotland Yard detective Will O’Reilly, who led the undercover operation, said his team has not expected to see such a widespread problem.

Maplewood attorney pleads guilty to smuggling contraband

A Maplewood attorney who worked for nearly 20 years as an assistant prosecutor for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has admitted he participated in a scheme to smuggle contraband, including marijuana and tobacco, to inmates in the Essex County Jail, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced. Brian Kapalin, 67, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to smuggle contraband into a federal detention facility before U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Kapalin faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. He will be sentenced March 18.

Customs agents foil smuggling of 152,000 cigarette cartons

The Jordan Customs Department (JCD) on Sunday said its personnel thwarted an attempt to smuggle around 152,000 cartons of different brands of cigarettes into the country.The owner of three containers, which arrived at Aqaba Port from China, claimed that the contents included medical beds, a senior JCD official said.“Our agents became suspicious of the containers’ contents and decided to conduct a thorough search,” the JCD official told The Jordan Times.

The search yielded 3,040 boxes that contained the smuggled cartons of cigarettes, according to a JCD statement.