PARIS: More than five million cigarettes with a retail value in excess of €2.5 million have been seized by officers from th Revenue’s Customs Service.
The “Eton” brand cigarettes, described on the cargo manifest as “cardboard boxes”, were uncovered in a container which arrived into the port of Cork on Monday having being shipped from Malaysia via Singapore and Rotterdam.
In two other operations, officers from customs service also seized a further 22,200 cigarettes and 300 litres of alcohol.
“Today officers seized approximately 300 litres of alcohol and 4,200 cigarettes with a total retail value of over €5,400 at Dublin Port.The alcohol and cigarettes were discovered when officers stopped and searched an Irish registered van that disembarked a ferry from Liverpool. The van was driven by an Irish resident Lithuanian national conducting a courier business.
“Yesterday [Thursday] officers seized 18,000 “Winston” brand cigarettes with a retail value of almost €9,000 at Dublin Airport. The cigarettes were found in the luggage of a 25-year-old Moldovan female when she arrived on a flight from Moscow via Charles De Gaulle, France. She appeared before Judge Dunne in Court 4, Criminal Courts of Justice today [Friday] and was remanded in custody until next Tuesday.
These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800-295295.
