Customs officers today seized almost €40,000 worth of tobacco from passengers on a flight to Ireland from Riga in Latvia, as part of an ongoing investigation into an Eastern European crime gang.
The contraband - 112,000 cigarettes - was seized at Dublin airport and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Customs spokeswoman said: "The seizure resulted from an operation by Customs Officers targeting a cigarette smuggling gang operating through Dublin Airport.
"Revenue identified that this particular gang, based in Latvia, is distributing cigarettes for sale on the black market throughout the country."
The cigarettes are valued at €38,080 which officials said would have represented a €30,800 loss in taxes to the state.
"Operations against the smuggling of cigarettes by Irish and Eastern European gangs operating through Dublin Airport will continue," added the spokeswoman.
In a separate operation officers seized 27,000 cigarettes from passengers arriving on a flight from Tenerife.
Authorities seized 38.8 million cigarettes and 746Kgs of tobacco at Dublin Airport last year.