Securing Super Bowl XLVIII
U.S. Department of Homeland Security / http://www.dhs.gov/blog/2014/01/29/securing-super-bowl-xlviii
Posted by Federal Coordinator Andrew McLees: Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations - Newark
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proud to support the State of New Jersey, the National Football League and our federal, state and local partners as they work to keep Super Bowl XLVIII fans safe before, during and after this weekend’s big game.
Today, Secretary Johnson visited MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. where he met with local law enforcement officials and was briefed on security operations at and around the Stadium, including the assets deployed by DHS to support state and local law enforcement security efforts.
DHS entities have worked closely with our federal, state and local partners over the past year in the planning and preparation for the Super Bowl, and providing support in the following ways:
- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams, comprised of Federal Air Marshals, surface and aviation transportation security inspectors, Behavioral Detection Officers, Transportation Security Officers, and canine teams, are helping secure transit to and from the stadium.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and non-intrusive inspection equipment scan the cargo entering the stadium for contraband such as narcotics, weapons, and explosives.
- CBP Office of Air and Marine will enforce Air Space Security.
- The U.S. Coast Guard will support maritime and waterways security.
- CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will conduct operations specifically targeting counterfeit vendors and local merchants of game-related sportswear. This is part of a crackdown on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations and to ensure fans are getting official Super Bowl related memorabilia.
- TSA is sending additional screeners and doubling the checkpoint lanes at Newark Liberty International Airport for the influx of fans traveling for the game. TSA will also conduct baggage screening operation at Secaucus Junction station on the day of the game
To help keep fans safe, DHS is continuing our partnership with the NFL through the “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign, first launched at Super Bowl 45. Time and time again, we see the value of this kind of public vigilance. Fans and visitors in the New York and New Jersey area will see the “If You See Something, Say Something™” message at the airport, hotels, on buses, and billboards leading up to and throughout Super Bowl weekend. The message will also appear in the game day program, the official fan guide, and on the video board during the game.
In addition to DHS support, 13 other federal offices are assisting. These interagency partnerships – including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Defense – are essential to the safety and security of this event.
Securing an event like the Super Bowl is a shared responsibility, and we all have a role to play. As the Federal Coordinating Officer for Super Bowl XLVIII, I am proud of our work with our federal, state, local and law enforcement partners, the NFL, event staff and volunteers, as well as the public, to help ensure the safety and security of everyone who is in town for the big game.
USITC News Releases and Documents
United States International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/
NEW YORK — Federal officials teamed with the National Football League (NFL) Thursday to announce the record-breaking results of a nationwide law enforcement effort aimed at combatting counterfeit sports merchandise.
Speaking at a NFL news conference, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director John Sandweg, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Director of Field Operations (DFO) Robert Perez, and NFL Senior Vice President and Chief Litigation Officer Anastasia Danias discussed the results of the initiative dubbed "Operation Team Player."
Team Player began in June and targeted international shipments of counterfeit merchandise as it entered the United States. Authorities identified warehouses, stores, flea markets, online vendors and street vendors selling counterfeit game-related sportswear and tickets throughout the country.
Fake jerseys, ball caps, t-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs are among the counterfeit merchandise and clothing confiscated by teams of special agents and officers from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), CBP, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and state and local police departments around the country – all in partnership with the NFL and other major sports leagues.
"Our agents are committed to combatting the criminal enterprises selling counterfeit products which undermine our economy, and take jobs away from Americans," said Sandweg. "No good comes from counterfeiting American products regardless of whether they are jerseys, airbags or pharmaceuticals."
Special agents from HSI and officers with CBP worked with sports leagues and law enforcement agencies throughout the nation to identify illegal shipments imported into the U.S., as well as stores and vendors selling counterfeit trademarked items. With three days left before Super Bowl XLVIII, these teams have already seized more than 202,000 items of phony sports memorabilia along with other counterfeit items worth more than $21.6 million. Law enforcement officers have made 50 arrests in relation to Operation Team Player so far, three at the federal level and 47 at the state and local level. Super Bowl XLVIII efforts will continue through Feb. 7.
"The NFL is proud to once again partner with the [National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center] in combating the illegal sale of counterfeit merchandise and tickets," said Danias "Together, we are working hard to prevent fans from being scammed by criminals seeking to profit from the public's passion for the NFL, their home teams and the Super Bowl."
"The risks of counterfeit products go beyond damaging the reputation of a name on a label; the U.S. economy and American jobs are at risk with the purchase of seemingly harmless items," said CBP Acting Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski. "Ultimately, the cost of purchasing a fake product is much greater than the perceived savings."
For the first time, Mexico's Servicio de Administracion Tributaria (SAT) is also conducting operations related to sports merchandise seizures during Super Bowl week. Working with the IPR Center, SAT is conducting "Operation Fumble" in some of the largest cities of Mexico. SAT officials from different regional offices are targeting warehouses, stores and flea markets in order to identify counterfeit sports merchandise.
Understanding the economic impact of intellectual property theft, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also spreading the word about the dangers that counterfeit products pose to the economy.
"Unsuspecting consumers are often blindsided when they get inferior, counterfeit products and Americans see real loss of jobs," said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber's Global Intellectual Property Center. "Counterfeit goods cost the global economy an estimated $250 billion each year. More than 1.2 million jobs in New Jersey, 900,000 jobs in Colorado and 1.2 million in the state of Washington depend on IP intensive industries meaning counterfeits have a direct impact on the economy in the home states of both teams and the host of the Super Bowl."
Website Seizures
Furthering HSI's efforts to combat the international counterfeiting supply chain online, special agents from HSI offices in Charleston, S.C.; Denver, Colo.; and New Orleans seized a total of 163 websites identified to be selling counterfeit merchandise.
The website seizures during Operation Team Player are the next iteration of Operation In Our Sites, a long-term law enforcement initiative led by the IPR Center which targets counterfeiting and piracy on the Internet. The 163 websites have been seized by law enforcement, and are now in the custody of the federal government. Visitors to these websites will find a seizure banner that notifies them that the domain name has been seized by federal authorities and educates them that willful copyright infringement is a federal crime. Since the launch of Operation In Our Sites in June 2010, the IPR Center has seized a total of 2,713 domain names.
In addition to the domain names seized by law enforcement, the NFL also executed civil seizure orders in 2013 for more than 5,250 websites.
Operation Team Player was spearheaded by the IPR Center in coordination with the Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and three U.S. Attorneys' Offices, including the District of South Carolina, District of Colorado and the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. Working in close coordination with the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 21 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public's health and safety and the U.S. economy.
Port Authority Applauds Parties for Critical Hiring in Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey / http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1907
Increased Workforce Will Improve Efficiency and Productivity in the East Coast’s Busiest Port Facility
The Port Authority today applauded the Waterfront Commission and the New York Shipping Association for the critical hiring of 150 new dockworkers in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The move will improve the productivity and efficiency of the East Coast’s busiest port facility.
The Waterfront Commission and the New York Shipping Association, despite their ongoing litigation, worked in recent weeks to fill vital waterfront positions needed to build on the 280,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity that the port generates. The 150 new longshoremen – who will be members of the International Longshoremen’s Association with high paying jobs and good benefits – are in the process of being hired.
The Port Authority is working with all port stakeholders – shippers, the private-sector terminal operators, labor and the trucking community – to overcome performance challenges that faced the port’s private-sector terminal operators during the past year. The agency recently formed a Port Performance Task Force to find collaborative ways to address the challenges – including congestion at terminal gates, the efficient movement of cargo on and off the terminal, port roadway congestion and the advent of larger, modern vessels in the shipping industry.
To maintain the port’s competitiveness, the Port Authority also has invested billions of dollars in the port in the past five years, including a $1.3 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge to allow larger ships to navigate under it, and hundreds of millions more to deepen port channels, build state-of-the-art ship-to-rail facilities, and upgrade berths, wharfs and the port’s internal road network. The investments are funded in part through a Cargo Facility Charge, a nominal fee on every cargo container and vehicle that moves through the port.
“We’re pleased that the Waterfront Commission and the New York Shipping Association understand what’s at stake here and are doing their part to continue the critical hiring that’s necessary to keep our port competitive in an extremely challenging marketplace,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.
“Our port has been an industry leader in creating jobs and fostering regional economic growth, and the hiring of new port workers will help us maintain that status,” said Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Deborah Gramiccioni. “We owe it to the region and to its tens of millions of consumers to maintain a healthy, efficient and productive port business.”
CBP Agriculture Specialists Seize Bird Eggs
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/01272014_3.xml
Phoenix, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists assigned to the Tucson Field Office seized a box of raw bird eggs last Wednesday.
CBP officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport referred a passenger on an international flight from Kenya via London for an intensive agriculture inspection upon arrival. An agriculture specialist located a plastic box inside a suitcase containing 103 small eggs. When asked, the owner claimed they were to be used as medicine for her heart. The prohibited eggs were seized under 9 CFR 94 Prohibited and Restricted Importations of Animals and Animal Products. The regulation restricts importation of meat; milk and milk products; meat products of swine; meat and eggs of poultry; organs; glands; and regulated garbage.
The woman was not assessed a penalty but was informed not to bring these items in the future and of the need to declare all food items promptly, or risk a penalty. The passenger was released without further incident. The eggs were destroyed as per port policy.
CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.
Media Advisory: Port Authority to Light the George Washington Bridge in Bronco Orange and Seahawk Green in Honor of the Region's First Super Bowl
Port of New York and New Jersey / http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1908
B-roll Footage of the Installation Included
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will light the156 LED necklace lights on the George Washington Bridge in Broncos orange and Seahawks green beginning tonight, January 29, at dusk. The bridge will remain lit each night through the Super Bowl in support of Super Bowl XLVIII, the first Super Bowl hosted in the New York and New Jersey region.
Electricians at the bridge braved the frigid temperatures several hundred feet above the Hudson River to install the team colored gels earlier this week. B-roll footage of the installation and interviews with the crew responsible for installing the necklace lights at the GWB can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tlrawewol5xegbx/GWB%20SUPER%20BOWL%20LIGHTS_H264_Widescreen_1920x1080.mp4?n=260618333
Media interested in filming the necklace lighting can do so at either of the following locations in New Jersey:
Fort Lee Historic Park, off Hudson Terrace just south of the bridge.
Rockefeller Overlook, north of Exit 1 on the Palisades Interstate Parkway North.
Response to Media Enquiries on Review of Disposal of Forfeited Ivory
Hong Kong Government / http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201401/23/P201401230642.htm
In response to media enquiries on the result of the review of the disposal of forfeited ivory, a spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) responded today (January 23) as follows:
The Endangered Species Advisory Committee in principle agreed unanimously to the AFCD's proposed disposal of forfeited ivory in the government stockpile by incineration at a meeting today.
Apart from retaining a small amount of ivory for potential uses permitted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), all the forfeited ivory stockpile will be disposed of by incineration.
The AFCD will work out an implementation plan. It is expected that the disposal can start in the first half of 2014 and be completed in about one to two years.
All species of elephant were listed in CITES Appendix I in 1989. Since then, the international commercial trade in elephant ivory has been prohibited except under specific and stringent circumstances permitted under CITES.
Use of specimens of endangered species for scientific, enforcement, identification and education purposes is allowed under the CITES guidelines. In case use for such purposes is not practicable, keeping the specimens in storage or disposal by destruction is also permitted.
The AFCD strictly adheres to the CITES principles in the use of forfeited ivory, and over the years has donated a portion of its stockpile mainly to local schools for conservation education. In view of the management burden and the security risk generated by prolonged storage of the forfeited ivory stockpile, the AFCD considers it necessary to dispose of ivory by destruction.