Search Results Archives: July 2018

July 24, 2018

Market of illegal, local cigarettes expanding ‘alarmingly’ (Bangladesh)

From: The Independent

Illegally produced local cigarettes pose a potential threat to the success the government has made in last few years by increasing the price of cigarettes with an aim to controlling the consumption of tobacco products. A market investigation revealed three types of illegal cigarettes – smuggled cigarettes from abroad, products faking local popular brands and locally produced cigarettes evading taxation. Thanks to the promptness of tax department and administration, the issue of smuggled cigarettes often made headlines. But remote and underdeveloped regions are home to the biggest market of locally produced and tax evading cigarettes. That’s why they hardly come under the surveillance of the law enforcers and government monitoring systems. These cigarettes are marked with fake or reused bandroll or tax stamp. This type is gaining popularity in every corner of the country due to its cheap price and lack of surveillance.

July 11, 2018

Meet the detection dogs helping Chester council’s trading standards officers

From: The Chester Chronicle

Last week dogs Willow and Ted assisted in sniffing out hidden stashes of tobacco

Willow indicates a find.

Left, Willow indicates there’s something hidden behind the cupboard which opens up, right, to reveal illicit tobacco products.
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Seizures included cigarettes and tobacco that were not in standardised packaging and failed to contain health warnings in English. These products cannot be legally sold in the UK.

Councillor Karen Shore, cabinet member for environment and community, praised the use of the dogs who are provided by Wagtail UK Ltd.

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Spanish Police Capture Key Members of Russia’s ‘Thieves in Law’

From: Bloomberg

By 

  • Armenian faction of Vory v Zakone gang targeted in Spain
  •  Group allegedly smuggled tobacco, fixed sports bets in Russia

Spanish police said they captured seven key members of the Armenian faction of a Russian organized crime group described as Europe’s most dangerous gang.

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The group operated a network to smuggle contraband tobacco produced in Ukraine and Poland and distributed in France, Italy and Spain, police said. They were also involved in bribing basketball, beach volleyball, ice hockey and minor league tennis players in Azerbaijan and Russia to fix the outcome of matches, according to a Spanish police statement.