Customs' sting leads to seizure of eight million illegal cigarettes
Wednesday July 15 2009
Customs officers have seized a massive haul of contraband cigarettes after keeping a container under surveillance at Dublin Port.
The surveillance stemmed from liaison between the Customs in Dublin and agencies overseas and resulted in the seizure of 8.25 million "Regal" cigarettes, with a retail value of about €3.5m and a potential loss to the Exchequer of €2.95m.
The cigarettes, which were declared on the manifest as "aluminium foil trays", were discovered in a container which had arrived in the port from China last Friday.
Officers kept watch on the container at the port and then monitored the cargo as it was transferred to a truck and trailer. They intercepted the load after stopping the truck on the M1 near Swords, in north county Dublin.
A house in the Dublin area was searched and a number of suspects interviewed as part of the investigation, which had been code-named Operation Monarch.
Last night Customs said the seizure involved one of the largest ever single maritime containers.
Further inquiries were under way last night to establish the source of the cargo.
The haul brings the total amount of cigarettes seized by Customs to date to about 53 million, with a retail value of around €22m.
- Tom Brady Security Editor
