€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.