A hundred counterfeit hair curlers and 23,000 cigarettes were among the seizures made by Revenue customs officers in the past week.
Revenue said officers had seized in excess of 23,000 unstamped cigarettes with an estimated retail value of €11,000 in Roscommon town last Friday. The potential loss to the Exchequer was over €9,000, Revenue said.
‘Pall Mall, Marlboro, L&M, Viceroy brands were found concealed in two large courier packages disguised as sound speakers, which had arrived into Ireland from Poland.
“As part of the operation, officers acting under court warrant, searched a private residence in Roscommon town. A male Polish national in his 30s was questioned and a file is being prepared for the DPP,” Revenue said in a statement.
Also in the past week, customs officers at Dublin airport seized 266,880 cigarettes with a retail value of €126,768 and a potential loss to the exchequer of €103,769.
Officers also seized 13.75kg of roll-your-own tobacco with a retail value of €5,583 and loss to Exchequer of €4,447.
Revenue said a 24-year-old Polish man was arrested and appeared in court last Thursday. He was remanded in custody to appear again in Cloverhill court next Thursday, March 27th.
Revenue said a 29-year-old Lithuanian male who had arrived from Vilnius, Lithuania was also arrested. He appeared before the courts today and was remanded in custody to appear again in Cloverhill court on Friday.
Some 25kg of the drug khat was also seized in Cork as a result of controls carried out by Revenue at various courier premises. It had a street value of €50,000, Revenue said.
“Customs officers also seized 100 counterfeit hair curlers at Cork airport which were imported from China and could potentially cause serious health and safety risks to unsuspecting customers.”
Other seizures by customs officials included 3,000 cigarettes, two vehicles and 130 litres of alcohol in Wexford.
Revenue said if businesses or members of the public had any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they could contact Revenue in confidence on a free phone number 1800 295 295.