English
Italiano Specialist in transmitters
The Marlboro Man investigates…
Big Tobacco, now that it is officially collaborating with the police of the European Union in the fight against smuggling, is using microscopic transmitters to follow the path of its cartons of cigarettes. The devices are so small that they can be put in a single pack without even being noticed by the smoker who buys it. A real “specialist in transmitters”.
The devices used today by Big Tobacco are as thin as a sheet of paper, imperceptible and almost invisible. It is supposed that they enable the goods to be followed from the factory to any eventual smuggler.
And what if they don't go to smugglers? Then they could, logically, enable the cigarettes to be followed all the way to some exotic beach, where the innocent and unawares smoker has gone on vacation, taking his inseparable Marlboros with him.
Why didn't Philip Morris use these instruments in August 2003, when it had a series of fake bombs, contained in cartons of Marlboro and L&M cigarettes, sent to Yesmoke logistics in Balerna, Switzerland, creating panic among the company employees?
Philip Morris Vs Yesmoke - August 2003
Some six month earlier, the Colossus had won the suit against Yesmoke for Copyright Infringement and Unfair Competition, and on January 29th, it had enjoined the on-line store: "Within twenty (20) days of entry of this judgment, Otamedia (Yesmoke) shall post a notice on the Yesmoke.com websites which informs customers that Otamedia does not sell Philip Morris branded cigarettes to customers residing in the United States".
August 2003 - The device, now in the hands of swiss authorities.
The on-line store, disregarding the sentence, didn't post any notices and continued to sell to its American Customers.
Yesmoke had opposed the request to hand over to the judge the list of all its customers who live in the USA who had acquired Philip Morris products (delivery supported by its own US lawyer!), abandoning both the suit and the lawyers.
We mustn't forget that in August 2003, Philip Morris was trying to get hold of the Yesmoke.com domain with a real unexpected attack.
“The bombs”
The explanation given to the newspaper, Corriere del Ticino, by Marc Fritsch, spokesman for Philip Morris international was touching: "The objective was to follow the path of the cigarettes, to locate the final destination and to prevent any unlawful sale or fiscal and customs fraud".
The 'bombs' to Yesmoke's logistics, which Philip Morris innocently called transmitters were a collection of radio parts and wires held together with adhesive tape, about the size of a small stereo system… A ridiculous object!
Were they transmitters disguised as fake bombs, or fake bombs disguised as transmitters, those three strange devices found in 3 cartons of Philip Morris production destined to Yesmoke? The Swiss police said: " They are not transmitters, they are not bombs". Only one thing was certain, by direct admission, they came from Philip Morris, that is, the devices were P.M. property.
The carnival bombs, innocuous that time "transmitter against fiscal and customs fraud" must not be underestimated, because they could have various purposes. They did not succeed in scaring anyone, nor did any workers stop working, they did not lead to closure for inspections, they did not make Yesmoke look bad, presenting it as a company involved in events that need to be investigated - that could lead to all sorts of illations.
But their objective may have been to distract Yesmoke from a real problem: saving its Yesmoke.com domain, that PM in August 2003 was trying to get hold of with a sudden legal attacks: the hearing would have taken place without the knowledge of Yesmoke.
The transmitters used in 2004 and 2005 by Philip Morris are as thin as a sheet of paper. And the fake bombs Philip Morris sent to Yesmoke in 2003 remain a funny mystery. Maybe the secret lies in the uproar that would have been caused in the press by the persons receiving the "bombs". If this were the case, merely buying the daily newspaper, the men of Philip Morris would have read news of the finding of the devices and would easily have found out the address of the recipient.
If this was the case, what contorted mind could have come up with such an idea? What impulses were there behind this choice? Maybe the fake bombs were only a small satisfaction for the prohibited desire of some aspiring "Rambo" to send real ones!
“From the factory to the smuggler”
Probably in August 2003 Philip Morris didn't use transmitters because there was nothing it needed to discover: the smugglers, in fact, were its customers. So what could Big Tobacco be looking for with those highly sophisticated transmitters?
Big Tobacco has never offered any explanations for that mysterious and comical fake bomb episode; it has only gallantly mentioned that it intended to check the itinerary of the cigarettes that it put onto the parallel market.
So why did the Marlboro Man send fake bombs? And why didn't it sent real transmitters, like those it uses today? Furthermore… is it legal to send fake bombs?
And today it would appear that the European Union has found a common line of objectives with giant who "Has organized and run smuggling activities, dealing directly with its 'Smuggler Clients" (Official EU documents).
1 Comment