‘Outstanding efforts’
Royal Mail has become one of the first businesses to be nominated and recognised by members of the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group (SAITG) for our outstanding efforts in the battle against the trade of fake goods.
A private ceremony on Thursday 4 October in Edinburgh saw members of SAITG, HMRC and Police Scotland come together to celebrate Royal Mail receiving the award from Scotland’s Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf MSP. Vue Cinema Group was the other business recognised.
Speaking at the event, cabinet secretary for justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, said: ‘The trade in illicit and counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime. It has a detrimental impact on legitimate businesses and can pose a serious risk to the health and safety of everyone who thinks they are getting a bargain.
‘I very much welcome the contribution that the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group makes to the implementation of Scotland’s serious organised crime strategy and congratulate both recipients on today’s awards.’
Royal Mail has been instrumental in assisting HMRC identify the trade of millions of illicit cigarettes in Scotland, allowing effective interventions by HMRC.
The SAITG brings together experts from both public and private sectors with the aim of reducing the scale, impact and cost of illegal trade across Scotland. As counterfeit goods tend to be substandard they can pose a risk to the public. This is particularly true in respect of counterfeit electrical equipment, toys, cigarettes/tobacco, and alcohol products.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) working with OECD found that up to 4% of UK imports in 2013 were counterfeit, this implies up to £500million worth of counterfeit goods were imported into the Scottish economy in 2013.
Operation SALANG was a multiagency operation coordinated by Police Scotland to disrupt and deter those involved in illicit trade and saw more than £31million counterfeit products seized in Scotland between 2013 and 2016.
Investigation manager, Roddy Fullarton, said: ‘Royal Mail takes the security of the mail and the postal service very seriously indeed and we will do everything in our power to protect it.’
Simon York, Director, HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said: ‘‘In Scotland, Royal Mail has been instrumental in helping HMRC tackle the importation of illegal tobacco. This liaison has led to a greater awareness among postal depot managers and staff on how we can work together to tackle this menace.’
