€1.25m contraband tobacco seized

IRISH customs officers have issued a Europe-wide alert following the seizure of five tonnes of illicit roll-your-own tobacco hidden in a container in Cork, the largest haul of its type in the history of the State.

The discovery led customs officials to contact counterparts in other European Union countries in the belief that a criminal gang based in Thailand is planning to flood the continent with cheap tobacco. The find, worth 1.25m, was put on display yesterday, just 24 hours after it was discovered in a container which had originated in Bangkok but had arrived in Cork via Rotterdam.

The Revenue Commissioners said the seizure was larger than all other finds of roll-your-own tobacco last year. Throughout 2001 they made 231 seizures totalling just over 4.5 tonnes.

“The tobacco was packed behind large earthenware jars. There were more than 100,000 pouches of tobacco sealed in bales. The tobacco, which was of inferior quality, was contained within 50g pouches which were counterfeit copies of Golden Virginia packets,” a customs spokesman said.

Customs officers became suspicious of the container when it arrived at Cork’s Tivoli docks on Wednesday afternoon because it had originated in Thailand. “We are always looking at Thailand as a source country for drugs, particularly heroin, but we didn’t expect to discover tobacco in the container.

“However, there is a huge problem with tobacco smuggling around the world,” said the spokesman, adding the discovery was very significant because it showed a criminal gang operating out of Thailand was targeting Europe. No arrests were made at the scene.

It is the first time that large amounts of tobacco have been discovered emanating from that country.

Typically, loads come from the likes of Egypt, China and Singapore and are hidden in containers under tea, crockery, cooking equipment or T-shirts.

The tobacco was put on show in a customs-owned warehouse in Cork before being taken under armed guard to Dublin last night. It will be stored in a secure location for a couple of days before being destroyed.

The latest seizure follows the discovery last week of more than 1m worth of contraband cigarettes in a warehouse in Co Offaly.

Four men were arrested at the scene following the discovery of the cigarettes, which were smuggled into the country in steel girders.

Customs officers and gardaí believe that a number of drugs smugglers are turning to cigarettes because of the increased profits they can make and the risk of lengthy jail sentences is far less.