Gardaí and customs officials acting on tip-offs from corner shops raided homes in Dublin yesterday in a major offensive against rogue cigarette traders.
Two people were cautioned in the early morning raids as the authorities seized tobacco thought to have a retail value of around €100,000.
Both of those cautioned had agreed to sell undercover agents cigarettes during test purchases by officials carried out in the city yesterday.
Files on the suspected illegal traders are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, according to Rory O'Connor, principal officer with the Revenue's Customs Service. "Part of the reason for the operation this morning was disruption but a major part of it was getting at the volumes. We want to hit them where it hurts," he said.
Mr O'Connor heads Operation Hawkeye which is targeting the supply and sale of contraband cigarettes and tobacco throughout the State. He said ordinary corner shops are suffering as a result of the illegal trade and are fighting back by alerting customs officials and gardaí to the criminals involved.
"We have come under some pressure from legitimate retail outlets," he said.
"They are looking out their shop window and seeing people buying their 40 fags outside. They are saying these guys are doing them out of house and home.
"The shop owners are relying on people who come in to buy their 20 fags to buy the likes of a newspaper, a sandwich and a bottle of coke as well," he said.
"And some of them are experiencing a drop in trade of between 20 and 25 per cent and they put it down to the illegal cigarettes."
Five homes - a house in Lucan and four apartments in the north inner city - were searched during yesterday morning's operation involving six gardaí and 20 customs officers.
In one home 200,000 cigarettes and almost 90kgs of rolling tobacco were seized. Mr O'Connor said that while the authorities were initially focused on securing prosecutions the Revenue tax inspectors would also be notified.
Customs officials in Dublin Port and airport have seized 34 million cigarettes this year.