DUBLIN: Revenue Commissioners have seized cigarettes worth €220,000 after sniffer dog, Harvey, became suspicious during an inspection of two Cork commercial premises.
Harvey became agitated near a commercial warehouse complex – and Revenue inspectors immediately conducted a search which found 445,000 cigarettes in primary and follow-up inspections.
The tobacco products were stamped with the ‘NZ Slim’ brand but had no duty paid markings. The cigarettes were concealed inside several ‘mannequins’.
The total haul involved cigarettes seized from the Cork commercial premises and from a property in Skibbereen in west Cork.
A UK-registered van was also seized by Revenue officials in a follow-up search.
The total tobacco seizure is valued at more than €220,000 and represents a loss to the Exchequer in terms of unpaid taxes and duties of more than €175,000.
Two Polish men and a Lithuanian man, all aged in their 30s, were questioned in relation to the seizures.
Files on the matter are now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes.
Anyone with suspicions about the origins of tobacco products being offered for sale or at discount prices is asked to contact Revenue on a special confidential hotline (1800) 295295.
