ICE, industry warn public of holiday scams
Washington, DC – A group of federal partners at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) teamed with industry and nonprofit organizations to warn consumers today to be wary of holiday shopping scams designed to dupe them into buying counterfeit products.
Federal agencies will be conducting increased operations during the holiday season targeting the importation and distribution of counterfeit and pirated products. Enforcement operations will be conducted by special agents, officers and import specialists from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI).
Lear MoreSpanish State Tv Apologises For Campo Smuggling Programme
The chairman of Spanish state broadcaster RTVE, José Antonio Sánchez, has apologised to residents of the Campo de Gibraltar for a programme on tobacco smuggling broadcast recently.
The segment on TVE 1’s ‘ ‘T con T’ programme offered a dire image of La Linea and its residents, to the extent that it drew a complaint from the controversial PP mayor of Algeciras and MP for the region, Jose Ignacio Landaluce. Speaking to the parliamentary committee that oversees RTVE’s programming yesterday, Sr Sánchez said he was ‘sorry’ for the programme.“I don’t agree with stereotypes and the generalisations produced in this programme were regrettable, and I apologise on behalf of all of us who work at RTVE,” he said.
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Action needed against new risks in counterfeiting
Companies including producers, wholesalers and retailers should assess their insurance and clarify the coverage they have against the risks posed by counterfeits.That’s one of the key recommendations to come from a new Zurich report examining the growing risks associated with counterfeit products.According to the report – Counterfeit products: new risks in global value chains – the globalised economy, digitalisation and investment by organised crime groups are resulting in a rapid rise in the production and organisational quality of counterfeiting.
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Since when do we believe the tobacco industry?
It’s a dark day indeed when a monopoly industry lobby and a media-sponsored organisation collude, and both agree with draconian government policy. That happened when Crime Line, an initiative of the Primedia Group, publicly supported the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa during its conference about the fight against “illicit” cigarettes.
Despite the appearance of a hostile relationship, the tobacco industry and the government are partners in an unholy alliance. The industry is a massive cash cow for the government, and in return, it gets protection against upstart competition.
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Illegal cigarettes cost SA R20bn
Johannesburg – South Africans should think twice about where they get their next tobacco product as the sale of illegal cigarettes has cost the country R20 billion in the past four years.The figure was released by the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (Tisa) during a three-day conference in Cape Town.The conference is attended by local and international law enforcement agencies who are sharing ideas on how to stop the scourge of trade in illicit products.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/illegal-cigarettes-cost-sa-r20bn-1.1786225#.VHa8fdKUfNc
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ENSURE AUTHENTICITY: UGG® Australia Helps Consumers Protect Themselves Against Counterfeit Product this Holiday Season
UGG® Australia (UGG) has re-launched its online consumer counterfeit education section with a specially created “Ensure Authenticity” link http://counterfeit.uggaustralia.com/ to emphasize the importance of buying genuine UGG Australia products from authorized retailers this holiday season.
UGG is committed to protecting shoppers from counterfeit UGG products that are being sold as genuine. Many consumers may not know the inhumane and negative implications the $600 billion dollar counterfeit industry has on the economy, environment and their own health. Every day, UGG works with worldwide customs authorities and law enforcement agencies to find and stop the shipment of counterfeit goods.
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Interpol operation seizes millions in counterfeit goods
Around 55 million zlotys-worth of goods have been seized as part of Operation Black Poseidon, a pan-European anti-counterfeiting action organised by Interpol with the cooperation of national police forces.
Black Poseidon was undertaken in October by eleven participating European states, with counterfeit alcohol, tobacco goods, electronics and clothes being seized by Polish police forces, Border Guards and Customs officers.IwonaKuc from the Central Police HQ told the PAP news agency that the operation targeted economic crime, and that it “particularly aimed at groups dealing with the trade and smuggling of counterfeit products”.
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Russia stops smuggling of “banned” products through Belarus
Russia stops smuggling of “banned” products through Belarus. Requirements for the transit of fruit and vegetables from Belarus through Russia have been tightened.Control measures on the import of products to Russia take force on Monday, November 24, due to suspicions of smuggling goods from the “banned” countries, RBC reports.Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced on November 21 that control over plant products brought from Belarus would be increased. All trucks, including transit ones, will be checked on the Russian border even if they were checked by Belarusian customs officers.
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2014/11/24/127588/
Lear MoreEbola: Ministry Warns Against Smuggling Of Frozen Chicken
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has warned Nigerians involved in the smuggling frozen chicken to desist from doing so as it could bring back the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) .The warning was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Federal Department of Animal Production and Husbandry Services.The statement noted that the importation of poultry and poultry products had continued to find their way into local markets through several land borders despite the ban on such products.It quoted the USAID Agricultural Information Network as reporting that 90 per cent of frozen chicken in come through Benin Republic and other West African countries.
Lear MoreLETTER: Smoke over smuggling
The Tobacco Institute of SA (Tisa) is supposedly concerned about the illicit trade in tobacco and is holding a meeting in Cape Town to address the issue (SA leads Africa in illicit trade in tobacco, November 19). Tisa would be well advised to look at the plank in its own members’ eyes before looking for specks in the eyes of others.Independent experts estimate that the level of cigarette smuggling in SA is much lower than is claimed by Tisa and, more important, that the cigarette companies themselves fuel smuggling.Last week, UK tax authorities fined British American Tobacco (BAT) £650,000 (R11.2m) for allegedly facilitating smuggling into the UK.
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