Customs officers have seized almost nine million contraband cigarettes in a warehouse in south Co Dublin.
The cigarettes represent a potential loss to the Excehquer of almost €3 million. The 8.74 million John Player Blue brand cigarettes were seized today as part of an operation, codenamed “Sizzlers”.
They arrived in a container on ship from China and were labelled “toys” in a effort to avoid detection, a Revenue spokesman said. The container was put under surveillance by Customs officers as it was taken off the ship and transported by truck to the warehouse in the Tallaght area of south Co Dublin.
“Officers intervened and several persons at the premises were formally interviewed,” the spokesman added. The discovery was made following risk analysis and profiling by Customs officers.
It is believed the cigarettes may be counterfeit. When the container was opened the cigarettes were found in 200 packets inside brown cardboard boxes.
"We believe they were destined for the black market in Dublin", the spokesman added. He said that about eight seizures of cigarettes from Thailand had also been made in the last two months.
Revenue's Customs officers have seized approximately 128 million cigarettes with a retail value of €47.5 million so far this year. This compares with a total of 74.5 million cigarettes seized in 2007.
Last month alone, some 17 million contraband cigarettes valued in excess of €6 million were seized in two separate operations.
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.
