Nigeria: Court Remands Businessman in Prison Over Drug Counterfeiting
A Federal High Court, Lagos would today hear the bail application filed by a Lagos businessman, OlisaemekaOsefor who was remanded in Prison custody last Friday.Osefor was arraigned before Justice James Tsoho by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on a four-count charge bordering on counterfeit drug deal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201411110689.html
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Bulgaria set to increase cigarette excise duties in 2016
Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved the timeline for increasing excise duties on cigarettes to meet minimum EU thresholds, with the first hike scheduled for January 1 2016, the government’s media service said on November 11.A 2011 EU directive requires EU member states to increase cigarette excise duties to at least 90 euro (or about 176 leva) for 1000 cigarettes by January 1 2018. Bulgaria uses a combination of fixed and ad valorem rates, which, under current legislation, is required to total no less than 148 leva (about 75.7 euro) for 1000 cigarettes.
http://sofiaglobe.com/2014/11/11/bulgaria-set-to-increase-cigarette-excise-duties-in-2016/
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Illegal circulation of tax-free cigarettes surges in S. Korea
The illegal circulation of tax-free cigarettes on the domestic market has surged since the announcement of a government plan to raise prices.The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Tuesday that it confiscated a record amount of illegally circulated tax-free cigarettes worth 66.4 billion won ($61 million) in the first half of the year, more than the 43.6 billion won confiscated throughout 2013, according to the KCS.Cigarettes produced for the military and exports are exempt from taxation, but those products are increasingly being funneled into the domestic market as the government moves to revise a law to increase the tobacco tax by 2,000 won per pack. A bill is pending in the National Assembly, with the ruling Saenuri Party throwing its weight behind it.
http://www.koreatimesus.com/illegal-circulation-of-tax-free-cigarettes-surges-in-s-korea/
Lear MoreTurkey seeks to bust vast smuggling racket bringing in meat from Syria: Minister
ISTANBUL – Turkish authorities have launched a major operation aimed at crushing a suspected gang that illegally brought in over 1,000 tons of beef from Syria, the customs minister said, describing the haul as Turkey’s biggest-ever smuggling case.Acting on a tip-off, investigators last week carried out raids on five storage spaces in the southern city of Mersin, where 1,044 tons of smuggled red meat had been stored, Turkish media quoted Customs Minister NurettinCanikli as saying.
Lear MoreESFI Names UL as Recipient of 2014 Safety Award for Excellence
Award Recognizes Company for Efforts in Support of ESFI’s Mission to Reduce Electrically-Related Fatalities, Injuries and Property Loss
The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has named UL (Underwriters Laboratories) as the recipient of the 2014 Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE), for its efforts in fighting counterfeiting and piracy. The SAFE Award recognizes a company, nonprofit association or other industry-related organization for active and sustained efforts in support of ESFI’s mission to reduce electrically-related fatalities, injuries and property loss.
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Meet The Man Smuggling Prospective ISIS Recruits Across The Turkey-Syria Border
Mohammed Abu Mustafa spends most of his days puffing sweet-smelling tobacco smoke out of a traditional hookah, or waterpipe, in his small café in the Turkish border town of Akçakale.
Sitting at one of the worn-down tables messily assembled outside, Abu Mustafa fixes his eyes on the nearby six-foot-tall chain link fence separating Turkey and Syria. On the other side of this fence is Tel Abyad, a Syrian border town controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The militant group’s ominous black flag flies high on the Syrian side, easily visible to the residents of Akçakale.
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Smuggling a ‘national disease’
Tin, who was speaking at a forum organised by the Government’s web portal, said staff shortages and outdated equipment had made it difficult for agencies to combat smugglers. However, he promised that stronger efforts would be made. Agencies investigating smugglers have dealt with 146,000 cases so far this year, collecting about VND9 trillion (US$424 million) in tax and VND500 billion ($23.8 million) in confiscated goods, according to a report from the National Steering Committee on Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Counterfeit Goods.
“We do not have enough people to fight the smugglers,” Tin said. “The staff has been spread too thin across a vast border area. There are thousands and thousands of paths and alleys smugglers can take. Most teams only have three to five members, use outdated cars and equipment.”
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/115681/smuggling-a–national-disease-.html
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IMFL smugglers make a quick buck
There has been an increase in smuggling in of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from Mahe after the State government decided to close down bars and observe Sunday as “dry day.” Since the check-posts between Mahe and Kozhikode mainly screen goods movement, small players in the trade, who mainly make use of private vehicles, manage to cart away the product for illegal trade. The smugglers thrive as there is great demand from buyers who are ready to pay the asked sum. The youth too have started falling prey to this quick means of profit. Prohibitionists point out that hundreds of vehicles shuttle between Kannur and Kozhikode via Mahe. The police and Excise Department find it difficult to screen all the vehicles.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/imfl-smugglers-make-a-quick-buck/article6577888.ece
Lear MoreVietnam police impound over 100 tons of smuggled products in major crackdown
More than 100 tons of contraband and thousands of smuggled children’s toys and motorbike parts were seized, but the ringleaders behind the smuggling rackets escaped as police launched a large-scale anti-smuggling crackdown in a border city of the northern province of QuangNinh early this month. Officers of C46, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s economic police unit, raided a number of areas where the illicit products were gathered in Mong Cai City, which borders China’s Dongxing City, and confiscated more than 100 tons of smuggled clothes, fabrics, and electronic products on November 2.
Lear MoreThis Is What Half A Million Smuggled Cigarettes Look Like
A Staten Island man’s lucrative cigarette-smuggling business went up in smoke this week, authorities announced Friday, after a seven-month investigation revealed he was in possession of over half a million untaxed cigarettes. Michael Zekry, 67, was pulled over by police in the New Springville section of Staten Island early Wednesday morning while driving a white van, the Richmond County’s District Attorney’s Office said. A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered over 2,000 cartons of cigarettes, all with stamps indicating that they were from Virginia. After obtaining a search warrant, officers found another 550 cartons of Virginia-stamped cigarettes inside Zekry’s apartment, along with $40,000 in cash and a cash-counting machine, authorities said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/cigarette-smuggling-michael-zekry_n_6122880.html
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