SIGNIFICANT IPR SEIZURES BY TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000705 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EUR/SE DMARSH AND EEB/TPP/IPE FOR JURBAN DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR JCHOE-GROVES AND MMOWREY DEPT PLEASE PASS USPTO FOR MICHAEL SMITH COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/CRUSNAK, KNAJDI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR USTR ECON TU SUBJECT: SIGNIFICANT IPR SEIZURES BY TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE REF: ANKARA 326 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The Turkish National Police (TNP) conducted two major raids in March and April aimed at disrupting organized crime networks distributing counterfeit products in Turkey. A raid in April by the Istanbul Security Directorate's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Bureau yielded hundreds of thousands of fake pharmaceuticals worth TL 120 million (USD 77 million) and resulted in 71 arrests. A similar raid by the same office on May 10 led to the seizure of approximately 1 million fake CDs and DVDs, with 29 people taken into custody, including a major counterfeiting kingpin. Both raids demonstrate that the specialized IPR offices at TNP are taking their role seriously and working to dismantle the major distribution networks for IPR-infringing goods. End summary. ¶2. (U) The Istanbul Security Directorate's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Bureau, a division of the Turkish National Police (TNP),recently conducted two major raids targeting distribution networks for counterfeit goods. These raids, conducted in cooperation with the TNP's Organized Crime Branch Directorate, targeted operations in multiple provinces of western Turkey and led to significant seizures of fake goods and multiple arrests. Side Effects of Fake Drugs Include... -------------- ¶3. (U) On April 6, TNP officers concurrently raided the operations of a counterfeit aphrodisiac ring in twenty Istanbul towns and five nearby provinces. In the sweep, the following items were seized: -- 344,018 counterfeit and/or smuggled aphrodisiac pills (Viagra, Cialis and Levitra), -- 136,395 empty pharmaceutical boxes, to be used in distributing the seized product, -- 36,822 pieces of material used to produce pharmaceutical goods, -- 22 kilograms of powder and liquids used to produce pharmaceuticals, -- USD 20,000 in cash, and -- 641 smuggled cell phones (with accessories). The estimated customs value of the seizures was TL 120 million (USD 77 million). This operation followed up on a series of seven smaller raids between January and April in which 162,000 fake pharmaceuticals were seized and 6 people sent to prison. �A; ¶4. (U) In addition to the product seizures, 71 people were taken into custody during the raids. Of these, 36 were released either by the police or the courts, but the remaining 35 pled guilty or were sent to prison to await trial. Fake DVD Kingpin Captured -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On May 10, a similar operation by the same offices targeted fake CD, DVD and videogame distributors in eleven Istanbul neighborhoods and seventeen provinces. Mithat Aynaci, TNP Istanbul Security Branch Director confirmed that in this raid nearly 1 million fake discs were seized, in addition to approximately 9 million counterfeit cardboard case inserts suitable for packaging fake CDs and DVDs. 29 people were taken into custody and await court determinations on their status, including a notorious counterfeit kingpin, Mehmet Besirik. Besirik has long been associated with pirated goods, but has managed to avoid prison because (at least until this raid) the size of the seizures was relatively small. ¶6. (SBU) Nilufer Sapancilar, the local representative of the Motion Picture Association, noted that the private sector had provided information to TNP on suspect production sites. The operation took off when TNP discovered that a criminal organization was using a website to distribute pirated material, based on a membership subscription model where "retailers" would order specific items for just-in-time ANKARA 00000705 002 OF 002 production and delivery to a storefront for immediate pickup by the end user. In this way, the distributors avoided having to maintain stocks of illegal goods in the store for protracted periods. She noted that the TNP operation was very professional and that it represented a breakthrough in that it disclosed an entire chain of producers and retailers of pirated goods. According to Sapancilar, the seized goods filled two large tents and several trucks to the point of overflowing, and TNP was having difficulty finding warehouses to store the material. The estimated market value of the seized goods is TL 31 million (U SD 20 million). In Search of Recognition -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The specialized IPR branches of the TNP are still relatively new (about a year old),but they are already beginning to make their presence known, as we noted in our Special 301 Report (reftel). In addition to conducting raids, they have also been assiduous in pursuing training opportunities, arranging a series of internal trainings by EU experts and also participating actively in the three Customs-focused counterfeit goods recognition programs arranged by the Embassy and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in March (Note: The same TNP officers who participated in our fake pharmaceutical training session in Istanbul conducted a major raid just two weeks later. End note.) ¶8. (SBU) Despite the success of the units, there is a strong sense that the TNP IPR officers feel underappreciated for their work. Following the pharmaceutical seizure, Gokmen Tekin, Chief of the TNP IPR Office in Ankara, expressed his surprise at the lack of public recognition by the pharmaceutical sector (Note: Sector representatives have privately told us that they were very pleased with the raid, but their public response has been negligible). ¶9. (SBU) Similarly, Hulya Erbay, IPR Department Head at Turkish Customs, informed us that she had heard TNP was annoyed when only two of the local pop stars they invited to the press conference on the CD/DVD seizure actually showed up. (Note: This may be due in part to TNP's own waffling on the invitation - Sapancilar noted that they only made the final decision to invite the celebrities an hour or so before the press conference. End note.) Erbay observed that on a human level, the TNP officers are comparing themselves to their colleagues in sexier divisions like drug smuggling and anti-terrorism, so when they receive no positive recognition for their activities it has a sharp demoralizing effect. Aynaci echoed these comments, noting that these operations help to raise public awareness, and that supportive statements by rights holders help to strengthen the fight against piracy. We will continue to stress with our private sector contacts that they need to focus not only on pointing out deficiencies in IPR protection but also in recognizing good work when it happens. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey JEFFREY