Customs seize 500,000 drugs, €250,000 cash and 350,000 cigarettes

CUSTOMS officers at Dublin Airport have seized 500,000 worth of drugs, €250,000 in suspected criminal cash and 350,000 contraband cigarettes over the last 10 days.

In a series of separate operations, some involving international law enforcement agencies, six people were arrested and charged for suspected drug importation. They included a mother and daughter who had smuggled 1.5kg of cocaine between them internally.

In the most recent operation, on August 28, Customs officials seized 90,000 cigarettes, valued at almost €30,000. The cigarettes had arrived from Prague and were described as machine parts. Two Lithuanians were questioned and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Customs sources suspect the smuggling operation is part of a highly organised scam operated by criminal gangs from the Baltic States. “The cigarettes are being imported by organised gangs from the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and probably Poland, but particularly Lithuania and Latvia.”

Customs officers say there is “a huge amount of money to be made” by smugglers, given that the retail price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is 94 cent in Latvia and €1.30 in Lithuania, compared to €6.35 here.

On August 27, a Dutch mother and daughter, were stopped by a Dutch mother and daughter, were stopped by Customs officers who became suspicious after they arrived on a plane from Dusseldorf.

The daughter, aged 26, had around 0.6kg of cocaine concealed internally, while her mother, aged 44, had approximately 1kg hidden inside her body. The drugs were estimated to have a street value of €105,000. Both women were arrested and charged.

On August 26, in a joint-operation with gardaí, Customs intercepted a 61-year-old Dutch man after he disembarked off a flight from Eindhoven, Holland. When officers checked his baggage they found £167,420 (€248,000) in cash. The money was seizedand a three-month detention order was granted by the courts to allow further investigation.

On August 25, a Customs sniffer dog uncovered 1kg of cannabis, with a street value of €7,000. An Irishman, aged 34, who had arrived off a flight from Amsterdam, was arrested and charged.

On August 24, Customs stopped a Dutch national off a flight from Dusseldorf. He had swallowed 0.8kg of cocaine, worth €63,000. He was arrested and charged.