Over 40 of an endangered species of giant clam were seized by the Revenue Commissioners at Dublin Airport last year, according to new figures.

A new group aimed at targeting the sale of illegal tobacco products in the capital has been established.

Hearts are to go into administration, the club confirmed last night.

The theft of 20,000 litres of green diesel from a tanker being stored at the army barracks in Dundalk is a snapshot of the world of smuggling and criminality along the border as well as the dangers faced by customs and the gardaí.

The tax tribunal which heard Rangers’ appeal over their bill for the use of Employee Benefit Trusts has delivered a majority verdict which has “allowed the appeal in principle”.

Rangers' creditors meeting began this morning amid increasing uncertainty over the future of Charles Green's new regime, with focus soon shifting to the future of manager Ally McCoist.

A powerful committee of British MPs has expressed bitter disappointment at the lack of progress on new measures to tackle fuel fraud in the North.

Football boss Harry Redknapp failed to declare his offshore bank account for six years after “feigning” ignorance during a high profile inquiry into football bungs, a court heard today.

SOARING fuel prices are driving the illegal trade in diesel in the North, making it Britain’s leading region for the trafficking.

More than 300,000 smuggled cigarettes were seized from a van in Co Down, it was disclosed today.

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness pledged to stand up to groups wedded to violence.

PORTSMOUTH expect to pay their players’ December salaries on January 5.

Two men arrested in the North as part of an investigation into suspected multi-million pound money laundering fraud were still being questioned by the PSNI today.

A smuggler who swallowed cocaine has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne has been given nine weeks’ breathing space to file his late tax returns and fend off a bankruptcy petition by Revenue and Customs.

Three brothers from the North caught smuggling millions of cigarettes into the UK were today ordered to pay over £1m (€1.3m).

Two people have been arrested after thousands of litres of dangerous illegal fuel were seized today in west Belfast.

Twenty-seven firearms and a massive haul of drugs were seized today as two men were arrested in an international police operation against a trafficking gang.

A number of people were arrested across the country today in an international police operation against organised crime.

ALL TDs and senators are to be offered data encryption technology for their laptop computers after a spate of scares both here and in Britain over the safety of sensitive information.

More public services must be privatised in the North in order to boost the competitiveness of the local economy, a top UK Government adviser recommended today.

Record amounts of criminal assets have been seized during the first six months of this year, the Northern Ireland Office said tonight.

A laundering plant and 25,000 litres of black market fuel have been seized by customs officers near the border in the North.

Britain’s first unified border force is to be set up by the Government, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today.

Drug trafficker John Gilligan has been forced to hand over nearly €500,000 to British authorities.

ASSETS worth £700,000 (€1.02 million) belonging to two alleged fuel smugglers in south Armagh have been frozen by the Northern High Court.

Police recovered 15 million contraband cigarettes in north Armagh following a probe into dissident republican crime, it was revealed today.

Three men were being questioned tonight after police seized millions of cigarettes in a move against dissident republican crime.