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Canadian officials release Chinese banker wanted by Beijing for embezzlement

The Associated Press
Saturday, February 24, 2007

VANCOUVER, British Columbia: A former Bank of China official accused by Beijing of embezzlement has been released by a Canadian court pending the start of immigration proceedings next month.

China's Ministry of Public Security has asked Canada to extradite Gao Shan who allegedly siphoned US$128 million (€97.46 million) from customers' accounts to Canada, the Beijing Daily said Friday.

The scandal came to light Jan. 15 when the Shanghai-listed A-share company Northeast Expressway revealed that more than US$37 million (€28.17 million) of shareholders' funds deposited with the branch was missing.

Gao, head of the Bank of China in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, reportedly vanished following the disappearance of the money, The China Daily reported.

Deposits by other companies, amounting to as much as US$90 million (€68.52 million) also vanished.

Gaos whereabouts had been a mystery until Feb. 16 when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested him at a North Vancouver home

"We arrested him for (Canada) Immigration," said RCMP Staff Sgt. John Ward.

Ward said the arrest was made on outstanding warrants from China.

He could not comment further as the case is before the courts.

But, he added, a criminal investigation into Gao is ongoing.

"We routinely work with law enforcement agencies on bona fide investigations."

Gao had been held in custody as Canadian officials feared he would flee.

An immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator, however, disagreed, ruling Thursday that Gao poses no risk to the public and should be released pending a $300,000 Canadian (US$258,000 (€196,437) bond against two properties the family owns.

Immigration spokeswoman Melissa Anderson said Gao is a landed immigrant and is considered a permanent resident of Canada.

As such, he has more rights before the courts than an immigrant without that status, she said. But, she added, the couple could be under a removal order for deportation if a tribunal finds they misrepresented themselves on their arrival in Canada.

Anderson said the government had opposed Gaos release, claiming the performance bond money was the results of the proceeds of crime.

The global search to find the 42-year-old ex-head of the Bank of China in Harbin had Canadian and Chinese authorities looking for him in the U.K., the U.S. and South Korea.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has said that Gao has been under surveillance for at least a year. He is, however, being held for allegedly lying about his occupation when he entered Canada.

His wife, Li Xue, and their 17-year-old daughter were also arrested for misrepresenting such information.

While Li and their daughter were released, Gao was being held on the grounds that he is a flight risk. All three, who are permanent residents, will have to appear at an immigration hearing March 6.

Vancouver is also home to Lai Changxing who has for five years been battling through the Canadian court system in a series of failed bids to be granted refugee status.

Chinese authorities have accused Lai of being the mastermind behind a Xiamen, China-based network responsible for smuggling as much as US$10 billion (€7.61 billion) worth of goods into China with protection from corrupt officials.

Canada and China do not have an extradition treaty, primarily due to the state of human rights situation in China and Canadian fears that suspects in crimes will be executed if returned to China.

http://www.cisc.gc.ca/pharmaceuticals/pharmaceuticals_e.htm

Criminal Intelligence Service Canada

Document - Print version

Client satisfaction survey - Print version
Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals in Canada

The counterfeit criminal market in Canada

Counterfeit goods can be categorized into industry sectors: entertainment and software; clothing and accessories; industrial; and, food and pharmaceuticals. Counterfeits from all sectors have been detected, to varying degrees, across Canada . The industry sectors most commonly counterfeited in Canada are entertainment and software, and clothing and accessories (ex. CDs, DVDs or brand-name clothing).

As in other countries, some consumers in Canada knowingly purchase counterfeit goods. Other Canadian consumers unknowingly purchase a variety of counterfeit goods that are passed off as legitimate products. Counterfeit goods are sold at a wide variety of venues in Canada, ranging from flea markets and strip malls to large, well-known, retail outlet stores. Some counterfeits are concealed within legitimate goods while others are more obviously fraudulent.

The probability of consumers unknowingly purchasing counterfeits remains relatively low. However, the variety of businesses selling counterfeits remains a concern to law enforcement. Addressing the counterfeit criminal market is complicated by the varying levels of societal tolerance toward counterfeit goods in Canada.

Defining counterfeit pharmaceuticals

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), counterfeit pharmaceuticals are medicines, both brand name and generic, which are deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source.

Counterfeits may be produced with the correct medicinal ingredients, or those medicinal ingredients may be in insufficient quantities or absent altogether. The medications may contain toxic or poisonous chemicals. The medication’s appearance and its packaging may be visibly different (or inferior) from the genuine product. Or, the pharmaceutical packaging and the medication may be exactly replicated. In this case, laboratory testing of the drugs is required to identify fraudulent medication and then determine its chemical composition.

No country is immune from counterfeit drugs

The WHO estimates that 10% of medication globally is counterfeit. The criminal trade in counterfeit medication is more prevalent in developing countries with weak drug regulation, control and enforcement, and where basic medicines are scarce or irregularly supplied and unaffordable. The situation is endemic in southeast Asia and Africa , where the amount of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in circulation is over 50% in some countries. While t he prevalence of counterfeit pharmaceuticals varies widely between developing and industrialized countries, there are increasing numbers of incidents of counterfeit medication globally. According to the WHO, in developing countries, the most counterfeited medicines are those used to counter both infectious and serious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as basic infections.

New, expensive medicines such as hormones, corticosteroids, cancer drugs or anti-retrovirals1 are the most frequently counterfeited medications in industrialized countries. Other commonly counterfeited types of drugs in industrialized countries are:

* lifestyle drugs which treat such conditions as sexual impotence, baldness or obesity, and
* psychotropic drugs which include opiate-based pain-killers, tranquillizers, stimulants and depressants.

Organized crime’s involvement in counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals, which were largely manufactured and distributed within many developing countries, have increasingly emerged in industrialized countries in recent years. Globally, organized crime groups are involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit or grey market2 pharmaceuticals, using multiple countries as manufacture, transit and destination points. Several recent U.S.-led law enforcement projects demonstrate that organized counterfeit pharmaceutical operations traffic multiple types of controlled medications simultaneously. These criminal operations are highly profitable and typically involve numerous individuals and illegal Internet pharmacies in multiple countries.

Medication is an attractive target for counterfeiting because the profits generated are high in relation to the volume of the ingredients needed for its production. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are typically inexpensive to produce: non-medicinal or sub-potent ingredients can be substituted for the correct active medicinal ingredients. An additional public health concern is that criminal groups disregard regulatory standards for the production, distribution and storage of medication, greatly lessening the costs of illicit manufacturing.

The scope and magnitude of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Canada remains relatively small in comparison to other industrialized countries. Currently, only a small number of criminal groups in Canada are involved in smuggling and manufacturing counterfeit medication.

Other Canadian criminal groups that have experience in the illicit synthetic drug market and have established smuggling routes domestically and internationally are well-placed to expand into the illicit importation, manufacture or distribution of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

In one case of counterfeit medication smuggling in 2003, law enforcement seized 14.8 kg of counterfeit Viagra pills that were concealed within 118,100 cartons of counterfeit Canadian-brand cigarettes. This contraband was seized in three separate shipping containers that arrived at the Port of Vancouver from China . The counterfeit Viagra was worth an estimated $1.1 million and contained approximately 74,000 doses.

In another incident in 2005, an airline pilot was sentenced to a one-year prison sentence for smuggling into Toronto 120,000 counterfeit Viagra, Cialis and Levitra pills, all of which are used to treat erectile dysfunction. The total value of the pills was estimated to be between $366,000 and $2,440,000, depending on whether the pills were intended to be trafficked in bulk amounts or in individual doses.

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Canadian pharmacies

Counterfeit drugs within licensed pharmacies in Canada are a rare occurrence. Despite stringent safeguards, criminally inclined individuals will identify vulnerabilities.

In 2005, counterfeit pharmaceuticals were found in two Ontario pharmacies – the first such cases within the country’s licensed pharmaceutical system. The cases were unconnected, and in each case members of the pharmacy staff were charged with knowingly selling counterfeit medication. The seized drugs contained no active medicinal ingredients, the wrong medicinal ingredients or were grey market drugs.

In the first case, law enforcement seized grey-market Norvasc pills that are used in the treatment of hypertension and angina. As eleven patients of the pharmacy who were prescribed Norvasc died, the Ontario Coroner’s Officer conducted an investigation into their deaths to determine if the counterfeit medication was a contributing factor. In January 2006, the Coroner's Office determined that in four of the eleven deaths, the manner of death was "undetermined" and the medical cause of death included "possible unauthorized medication substitution.”

In the second case, law enforcement seized both shipments of counterfeit Viagra tablets and bulk chemical ingredients to manufacture Viagra pills. The pharmacist is alleged to have sold counterfeit Viagra from the pharmacy as well as through the pharmacy’s website.

Illegal Internet pharmacies

Licensed Internet pharmacies provide accessible, convenient and private service to consumers. However, there are also illegal Internet pharmacies that typically sell a variety of medications that can pose health and safety risks, including:

* unapproved drugs,
* legal prescription drugs dispensed without a valid prescription,
* products that are marketed with fraudulent health claims, or
* counterfeit or grey market pharmaceuticals.

Illegal Internet pharmacies remain a concern to law enforcement and health agencies. These businesses operate without any authorized doctor/patient relationship. In addition, consumers receive medication of uncertain provenance and authenticity without information on correct use, dosages, drug interactions or side effects.

As with other websites that operate illicitly, it is difficult to track and examine the activity and merchandise of illegal Internet pharmacies. These sites open and close easily, frequently change their names and may operate from servers based in other countries. As law enforcement in both the U.S. and Canada have observed, some illegal Internet pharmacies mimic the appearance of licensed sites or disguise themselves as originating from Canada to take advantage of U.S. consumers seeking Canadian pharmaceuticals. Therefore, consumers may have difficulty discerning between legitimate and illegal sites.

Some Canadians use illegal Internet pharmacies to obtain a variety of drugs for which they do not have a prescription and wish to purchase in relative anonymity. The illegal websites also supply some Canadians abusing or addicted to prescription drugs or seeking experimental or unapproved medications.

Negative effects of counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Counterfeit medicines can result in unexpected side effects, incorrect dosages, dangerous drug interactions, allergic reactions or the worsening of medical conditions. According to the World Health Organization, thousands of people around the world are injured or killed by counterfeit pharmaceuticals annually.

Substandard antibiotics that do not effectively treat bacterial infections result in antibiotic resistance causing infections that are difficult to treat, spread rapidly and are more virulent. Counterfeit medications have contributed to antibiotic-resistant forms of shigella, cholera, salmonella3 and tuberculosis. These serious diseases have endangered the lives of millions of people suffering from malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Patients may have multiple chronic or serious underlying medical conditions. As a result, it can be extremely difficult to link counterfeit drugs directly as a contributing factor to injuries or deaths.

Consistent estimates of economic losses to the pharmaceutical industry are difficult to quantify. Most estimates range in the billions annually for global losses.

Counterfeiting may also result in patients’ loss of confidence in the public health system and pharmaceutical industry. It can threaten the reputation of pharmaceutical companies.

Looking to the future

Canada has a standardized, highly regulated pharmaceutical and public health care system that is largely affordable to most Canadians. This significantly lessens any potential market for illegitimate supplies of pharmaceuticals in Canada.

The two incidents of counterfeit pharmaceuticals seized within Canadian pharmacies indicate that licensed pharmacies remain vulnerable to the infiltration of counterfeit medication, particularly when facilitated by corrupted pharmacy staff. However, the probability of counterfeit drugs within licensed pharmacies will remain limited.

In Canada , the individuals most at risk of encountering counterfeit pharmaceuticals will be those who seek psychotropic or lifestyle drugs (for which they do not have a prescription) from less than reputable sources. Other individuals at risk will be those who mix licit and illicit drugs or take multiple prescription drugs for non-medicinal uses.

Medication trafficked by criminal groups or sold by illegal Internet pharmacies is clearly more likely to be counterfeit than medication received from licensed sources. Given the multitude of websites selling pharmaceuticals of questionable provenance and authenticity, illegal Internet pharmacies provide the most likely vehicle for counterfeit drugs. However, incidents of counterfeit pharmaceuticals obtained from these sources (or resulting adverse health affects) will remain largely under-reported by victims.

Multiple criminal groups in Canada will remain involved in smuggling counterfeit medication into Canada , as well as illicitly manufacturing pharmaceuticals domestically. Distribution of this medication will continue within Canada with some smuggling to the U.S. occurring.

Counterfeit medication in Canada will remain a key concern to law enforcement and health agencies. The CISC network of law enforcement agencies will continue to assess the threat of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Canada and target criminal groups involved in this activity.

1Corticosteroids (cortisone-like medicines) are used to relieve inflamed areas in conditions like severe allergies, skin problems, asthma, or arthritis. Anti-retroviral drugs are used to treat retroviruses, primarily HIV.

2In the “grey market,” branded products have been diverted from the authorized distribution channel within a country or are imported into a country for sale without the consent or knowledge of the manufacturer.

3Shigellosis, (or bacillary dysentery), Salmonellosis and Cholera are bacteria infections of the intestine that cause diarrheal illness. Food and water contamination are often the cause.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/News/2007/SerialKiller20070226.asp

Interpol fingerprint match assists US law enforcement in arrest of suspected serial killer in Europe

26 February 2007

A tip from a New York Police Department detective and an Interpol matching of fingerprints has led to the arrest of a man living in Montenegro in relation to the unsolved 1990 beating and dismemberment killing of a widow in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The NYPD detective noted apparent similarities with several European cases while attending a training session at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. Requesting assistance from federal and international authorities, he sent the suspect’s fingerprints from a 1974 arrest to Interpol. After comparison with those in its international database, Interpol notified the FBI that it had matched the prints to a man believed to be living in Montenegro.

The suspect, identified by authorities in Montenegro as Smail Tulja, 67, was arrested in his home in the tiny Balkan country's capital, Podgorica, on a federal arrest warrant obtained by the FBI and forwarded to Interpol. Tulja is also reportedly a suspect in similar slayings in several other European countries.

In fighting international crime, Interpol manages databases, which contain critical information on criminals and criminality, including suspected terrorists, fingerprints, DNA profiles, lost or stolen travel documents, child sexual abuse images, stolen motor vehicles, and nominal data on criminals (names, photos). These databases are accessible by Interpol National Central Bureaus in all member countries to assist police with investigations or in preventing crime.

Source: Original story published 23 February by Associated Press Newswires.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200702.asp

Interpol media release
22 February 2007

Interpol connects all Cricket World Cup host countries to global border protection network - Caribbean region is first in the world.

See also
Border-control network and specialized police training discussed by Interpol and Guyana Police during Cricket World Cup security meeting
Interpol helping to secure first major tournament in the Caribbean
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble (center) speaks with journalists upon his arrival in Jamaica. With him are (left to right) Nimal Mahagamage, Head of Interpol's Liaison Office in Trinidad; Senior Superintendent Derrick Cochrane, Director of the National Intelligence Bureau; and Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence, Charles Scarlett.
Lyon, France – Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble will visit Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago, 22-27 February, to discuss the final security arrangements for the Cricket World Cup (CWC).

'Interpol has been working with all nine hosting countries, as well as neighboring countries, to support the entire region in preparing a major security program,' said Mr. Noble. An Interpol Major Event Support Team (IMEST) has been in the region since early October.'

One of the gravest threats today is that terrorists and other international criminals use falsified stolen or lost passports to conceal their identities. To address this threat, Interpol is providing the region with Interpol-developed technology (called MIND/FIND) that allows law enforcement officers at airports and seaports to instantly check passports against Interpol’s global database of stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) – a database that contains information on more than 13 million such documents from over 120 countries.

Interpol’s MIND/FIND technology is now revolutionizing the way countries conduct border security. First deployed in Switzerland in December 2005, Swiss officers now conduct more than 400,000 database searches each month, detecting more than 100 people in possession of passports that have been reported lost or stolen. Other countries have since been implementing this technology.

Interpol has committed to helping all CWC host countries implement MIND/FIND technology so it will be operational before the start of the event. Although implemented in the region very recently, the number of SLTD searches has soared. While the total number of searches in Interpol’s SLTD database by the nine CWC host countries during 2006 (without MIND/FIND access at airports and seaports) amounted to a mere 455 searches, these countries have now conducted more than 45,000 searches during the first month of 2007 alone. These searches led to nine positive database hits on passports that were reported stolen or lost, and these numbers are expected to further increase as the CWC event draws closer.

'These measures are part of the security program that will be in place for the CWC, which will severely limit the ability of terrorists and other dangerous criminals to gain access to the area,' said Mr. Noble. 'This has been made possible through the strong commitment of local ministers, commissioners and chiefs of police, Interpol National Central Bureaus (NCB), and other members of the law enforcement community throughout the region and the world, in working together to secure this event.'

Last modified on 26 Feb 2007

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200703.asp

Interpol media release
26 February 2007

Border-control network and specialized police training discussed by Interpol and Guyana Police during Cricket World Cup security meeting

See also
Interpol connects all Cricket World Cup host countries to global border protection network - Caribbean region is first in the world
Interpol helping to secure first major tournament in the Caribbean
Click to enlarge
Georgetown, Guyana - Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and the Acting Police Commissioner for Guyana's Police Force, Henry Greene, met Sunday to review Interpol's state-of-the-art police communications system (I-24/7) installed at Guyana's Interpol National Central Bureau and at Guyana's CJIA airport in Georgetown.

After meeting with Interpol and Guyana police staff assigned with CWC security, Secretary General Noble complimented Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene on the professionalism of his police staff and on the 24 hour - 7 day a week service that Guyana's Interpol office will be providing to all CWC host countries in order to provide a rapid response to any inquiry during the event. Acting Commissioner Greene also committed to sending a police and immigration officer to a special training course that will be offered at the end of this month in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

'I have assured our governmental leadership, citizens and Cricket World Cup (CWC) spectators that Guyana will be a secure and safe environment for the CWC,' said Acting Police Commissioner Greene. “Our fine men and women in law enforcement are delivering on that promise.'

Interpol has committed to helping all CWC host countries implement MIND/FIND technology so it will be operational before the start of the event. This technology allows law enforcement officers at airports and seaports to instantly check passports against Interpol’s global database of stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) – a database that contains information on more than 13 million such documents from more than 120 countries.

The Caribbean is the first region in the world to benefit from this additional layer of border security. First deployed in Switzerland in December 2005, MIND/FIND is revolutionizing the way countries screen travel documents. Approximately 29 persons, using false documents, have been prevented from entering the Caribbean since its implementation in the region two months ago. This compares to a total of 97 documents seized between 2002 and the end of 2006 – a significant increase.

Secretary General Noble is on a five-country tour to ensure that Interpol's border-control network is in place and functioning soundly in all CWC host countries.

'I have been very pleased by what I have seen during my visit this week,' Secretary General Noble concluded.

Last modified on 26 Feb 2007

[Toyota #1 for theft, interesting charts]

http://www.interpol.int/Public/Vehicle/Default.asp

Vehicle crime

According to research, illicit trafficking of vehicles is a form of organized crime which generates large profits for the perpetrators (estimated at USD 19 billion which disappears into a parallel economy) and a feeling of insecurity that affects the general public particularly due to the increased used of violence. A key aspect of this form of crime is the need to legalize stolen vehicles in order for the criminal to achieve a monetary gain.

Vehicle crime is a highly organized criminal activity and affects all parts of the globe. It is well documented that it is often linked to organized crime and terrorism. The vehicles are not only stolen for the cars themselves; sometimes, the trafficking of them finances other crimes. They can also be used as bomb carriers or in the perpetration of other crimes. These web pages attempt to offer useful information and links to fight vehicle crime. Interpol is working to keep this site updated and to provide the most useful information.

Statistics

The Interpol General Secretariat developed the Automated Search Facility-Stolen Motor Vehicle (ASF-SMV) database to support police in member countries in the fight against international vehicle theft and trafficking.

At the end of 2005, the database held more than 3 million records of reported stolen motor vehicles. Close to 125 countries use the database regularly. Of these, more than 95 countries have shared their national stolen vehicle database records with Interpol. Close to 18,000 motor vehicles were discovered worldwide in 2005 through the ASF-SMV database.

continues..............

http://www.interpol.int/Public/News/2007/Rednotice20070207.asp

No seat belt leads to apprehension of Red Notice suspect
06 February 2007

A fugitive from Ecuador, a subject of a Red Notice requested by IP Quito and suspected in the death of a prominent politician and two other men, was arrested 3 February in the hamlet of Palenville in upstate New York. According to the Greene County Sheriff's Department, Christian Steven Ponce, 36, of Quito, Ecuador, was arrested following a routine traffic stop for not wearing a seat belt.

An Interpol Red Notice seeks the arrest or the provisional arrest of a wanted person with a view to extradition.

http://leilamagazine6.blogspot.com/

It said 'handpainting' so I went to look.........

Take a look at the animals.

Then go down a bit more and look at "When God Paints".

Enjoy, go take a break.