A "serious irregularity" has been notified to the Irish authorities involving the illegal issuing of a false certificate of origin for beef by what purported to be a West County Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
In 1994, 61 tonnes of beef exported originally from Greenore Port to Alexandria was rejected there only to be smuggled back into the EU via the unregulated port of Corinth in Greece. The beef was stored in Caen in northern France and then re-exported to Congo, saving the exporter some £75,000 in due repayments.
In this case, a certificate of origin had been issued by a non-existent chamber of commerce from west Co Dublin using a reference number assigned to another exporter. A spokesman for the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland, Mr Simon Nugent, said only 35 recognised chambers were allowed to issue certificates of origin and they were satisfied none of their members was involved.