Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service have seized 5.3 million contraband cigarettes at Dublin Port.
The cigarettes seized have a retail value of €2 million, with a potential loss to the Exchequer of €1.8 million.
The “Raquel”, “Pride”, “Jim” and “Capital” brand cigarettes were concealed in a shipment of industrial paper reels that arrived in Dublin Port from Rotterdam.
They were discovered by Revenue officers when the consignment was routinely scanned by Revenue’s mobile scanner.
A United Kingdom registered commercial vehicle and trailer were seized and the driver was interviewed. Investigations are ongoing both nationally and internationally.
This latest seizure brings the total number of cigarettes seized in 2012 by Revenue’s Customs Service to 55.7 million, with an estimated retail value of €24 million.
