Seen and heard: counterfeiting news in brief

Lead-laced lipstick, fake airbag conviction, falsified medicines seizure, counterfeit water and a fuel marking contract.

Counterfeit MAC lipstick was high in toxic lead

A UK man has been convicted of selling counterfeit MAC lipstick containing potentially dangerous levels of lead, and has received a suspended prison sentence. Paul Lamerton (47) sold fake lipsticks on eBay and Facebook with 300 times the legal level of lead that could have caused high blood pressure, cardiac, reproductive and neurological problems, and neurological damage to unborn babies if used by pregnant women, according to a report in the Telegraph.

US man jailed for counterfeit airbag scheme

A US man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for selling counterfeit airbags via eBay store redbarnautoparts that he claimed were genuine Honda, Fiat, Chrysler, Toyota, GMC and Ford equipment. Vitaliy Fedorchuk (28) of Antelope, California, was also fined $5,000 in connection with the scam, which is estimated to have earned him $95,000 between 2014 and 2016. He pleaded guilty to the charges in June.

Three fake medicine batches seized in Nigeria

Customs officers in Nigeria have seized three container loads of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and other contraband items – including the gastrointestinal drug Acipep, Lemdafil for erectile dysfunction and antibiotic Ciprogyl, according to local news reports. The value of the seized goods has been put at N356m ($990,000).

Fake packaged water a problem in Uganda

The government of Uganda has tabled a set of initiatives to regulate the manufacture and processing of packaged water, which the country sees as a major emerging industry. Massive investment in packaged water has however been accompanied by an increase in counterfeiting, says the Independent newspaper, which cites State Minister for Trade and Industry Michael Werikhe as saying is “rampant” in the market.

Pakistan hires fuel marking firm to counter adulteration

The government of Pakistan has decided to implement a fuel marking programme – using markers supplied by Authentix – to curb widespread mixing of cheap kerosene oil with high-speed diesel, according to an article in the Express Tribune. The mixing of petroleum products has not only caused shortage of kerosene oil in the domestic market, but it has also hit government revenues on high-speed diesel sales, says the paper.