Replies

http://www.iacc.org/resources/Facts_on_fakes.pdf
http://www.interpol.int/public/icpo/pressreleases/pr2003/pr200319.asp

http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/05/counterfeiting-a-matter-of-nat/

“Counterfeiting – A Matter of National Security”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “According to the International Anti-Counterfeit Coalition, U.S. corporations alone lose approximately $200 billion annually. The breadth and danger created by counterfeiting is described in the IACC White Paper, ”Facts on Fakes.” If there is any doubt about the connection of counterfeiting to terrorism, here are a few important points:

· On February 28, 2003, Mohamad Hammoud was sentenced to 155 years in prison for helping to lead a cigarette smuggling operation that sent money to Hezbollah.

· The INTERPOL document presented to the Congressional Committee indicated that a wide range of groups - including Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, Chechen separatists, ethnic Albanian extremists in Kosovo, and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland - have been found to profit from the production or sale of counterfeit goods.

· There have been recent media accounts reporting a link between the terrorist organization Al Qaeda and the trafficking of counterfeit goods. An investigation, involving several countries, into a shipment of fake goods from Dubai to Copenhagen, Denmark, suggest that Al Qaeda itself may be funding itself by trafficking in counterfeit goods. Danish customs, using sophisticated risk analysis software, examined one of the containers on board and discovered that it contained over one thousand crates full of counterfeit shampoos, creams, cologne and perfume. The goods were ultimately bound for the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom later revealed that the sender of the counterfeit goods was a member of Al Qaeda.”

By Jay Fraser on May 12, 2008 at 7:01 AM