Venice, tourists return: fake Murano pearls and illegal taxis are back
He noticed it following the flow of tourists: shops with substandard goods, counterfeit and without any certification. One followed maxi operation of the yellow flames against illegal and counterfeiting linked to tourism which led to the seizure of 180,000 irregular products, including glass with a fake Murano Glass trademark, and fined a taxi and a b & b without authorization. It all started with the input of the new provincial commander of the Guardia di Finanza Giovanni Salerno who, wanting to continue the action already started with the other police forces and institutions, decided to set in motion extraordinary checks, especially in the historic center. The increase in tourist flows, for example, especially on weekends, is causing a rise in demand for low-quality goods and services, both for accommodation facilities and for purchases made by visitors.. Thus the yellow flames (even with plainclothes checks) began to bag the objects displayed in some shops, at particularly low costs, coming across clothing, accessories, shoes, costume jewelery, sold as made in Italy but which in fact were not .
I kidnap
There are also thousands of goods without labels, without indications, or counterfeit. Thus the official inspections of the military began, which in less than a week led to the seizure of 180,000 irregular products in the Venetian area. In the historic center alone, the financiers controlled five commercial activities in the areas of San Marco, Santa Croce and Cannaregio finding 52 thousand products including costume jewelery, toys, clothing and souvenirs, without safety and quality indications, all confiscated. These objects, passed off as Italian products, have no connection with the territory, argues the Finance. They come from other countries, they are made elsewhere, and it is not said that their sale derives a benefit in terms of tax revenue for the territory, especially if these activities open and close quickly by taking the capital abroad. In fact, the risk that Venice will be used as a showcase but the city has nothing left. The intensification of controls takes note of the known problems experienced for some time in the city, particularly in the historic center – says the commander Salerno -. The Guardia di Finanza, in synergy with the other institutional actors, wants to guarantee a constant presence on the territory in contrast to any form of illegal activity and to protect the legal economy.
I control
Given the foreign origin (China and Bangladesh for the most part) of many products, the network of controls extends to the port and airport, verifying trucks and packages addressed to commercial activities. And here, through the risk analyzes, with the descriptions of the items in the courier lists, alerts immediately appeared which then led to the seizures. The checks carried out together with the Customs led to the seizure of about 4,000 pairs of shoes with false indication Made in Italy and 50,000 textile products contained in a truck arriving from Greece. At Marco Polo the financiers of Tessera were seized fake clothing of well-known brands, and among the jewels some with glass beads that bore the fake Murano Glass trademark: a damage for a local production that between the pandemic and the increase in energy is going through a moment of great difficulty. The wave motion is also over: last weekend, in conjunction with the increase in visitors and boats in the lagoon, water taxis ended up in the sights in order to verify the presence of authorizations. Only one sanction taken, after the control of a decision of means. On the other hand, with regard to receptivity, ten b & b activities were verified together with the local police of Venice, also following reports from citizens. A b & b, run by a Bengali citizen, was completely abusive but despite this it was advertised on the internet.
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November 18, 2021 (change November 18, 2021 | 08:23)
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