€138m of drugs seized

THE Customs Service had a record year in 2007, seizing drugs with an estimated street value of €138m.

The vast majority of this was the €113m cocaine haul found at Dunlough Bay, west Cork, last July.

Customs officials made a total of 2,758 drug seizures in 2007, the Revenue’s annual report reveals, including its two largest seizures of heroin in Rosslare and Dublin worth an estimated €4.5m.

The report also says that 74.5m cigarettes worth €25.6m were seized, an increase of 43% on 2006.

The bulk of the seizures were made at Dublin Airport, which was targeted in an operation with 100% luggage checks on flights out of specific destinations. The Customs Service made 71 seizures of guns, and quantities of ammunition and component parts and one seizure of a designated explosive. It seized 33 knives, five machetes, two swords, one axe and 12 noxious sprays.

The report also says that there were 392 seizures of counterfeit goods in the year, comprising 30,502 items valued at €1.7m.

It said most of the goods were imported by post and consisted of luxury branded women’s clothing, sportswear, DVDs and four seizures of counterfeit Viagra imported from India.