‘Price to blame’ as seizures of illegal cigarettes soar

Customs report major rise in seizures of contraband tobacco

Customs officers have reported major increases in illegal tobacco seizures after confiscating 53m contraband cigarettes and 9,836kg of roll-your-own tobacco worth nearly €30m last year.

The number of cigarettes seized was considerably up on the 40.8m confiscated in 2013. There was also a notable increase in roll-your-own tobacco seizures, which accounted for 4,203kg in 2013.