Four million smuggled cigarettes bound for North

CUSTOMS officials at Dublin Port discovered more than four million smuggled cigarettes yesterday in the eight major seizure this year.

The ‘Sovereign’ branded cigarettes were hidden inside a container of wood stoves which arrived from Poland. Around 19,000 cigarettes were hidden in each stove, potentially losing the Revenue Commissioners €900,000 in revenue. Customs officials also seized an articulated lorry which had arrived to pick up the consignment.

The cigarettes were believed to be destined for Northern Ireland, where they could be transferred to mainland Britain.