Officers from Revenue's Customs Service have seized 17 million contraband cigarettes valued in excess of €6 million in two separate operations over the last fortnight.
In one operation, codenamed Operation Eagle, officers seized contraband cigarettes in five containers which had arrived from Vietnam. The cigarettes were concealed behind items of furniture.
In the second operation, officers seized cigarettes from a container which arrived at Dublin port from China, concealed behind tyres.
So far this year, Revenue's Customs Officers have seized approx 112 million cigarettes with a retail value of approx €40 million. This compares with a total of 74.5 million cigarettes for 2007.