Customs foil €11m cigarette smuggling bid

CUSTOMS have foiled a huge smuggling operation after seizing €11 million of cigarettes packed in containers — the second largest seizure of its kind in the state.

Law enforcement officials from four countries tracked the illegal contraband for several weeks, which was destined for gangs working on both sides of the border.

Smugglers had loaded the 30 million cigarettes in containers aboard a vessel at Singapore on April 22. The cigarettes, including Palace and Silk Cut brands, with an estimated street value of €11m, were concealed in four 12m containers.

Customs officials tracked the containers as they were shipped to the port of Le Harve, France, and then loaded onto a feeder vessel which made its way to Dublin Port.

Cross-border gangs are believed to have then transported the cigarette packed containers to locations both in the north and south. Joined by gardaí, customs officers then swooped on three separate premises in Louth and Meath on Wednesday night, where the cigarettes were seized.

The cigarette smuggling bust — codenamed PALMAL — followed several weeks of co-operation and assistance from the French customs service, Britain’s Revenue & Customs and the north’s police service.

In a follow-up operation after the 30 million cigarettes were seized, both customs and gardaí raided four premises and several people were interviewed. Investigations last night into the gang’s smuggling operation were continuing both nationally and internationally.

The value of cigarettes seized was nearly equivalent to amounts taken in by customs at Dublin airport for the whole of last year, which amounted to more than €13m.

The biggest ever capture of illegal cigarettes was in 2002, when a massive €70m was seized after being shipped to Ireland.

Dave Godwin, director of Ireland’s customs investigations, said: “The organisation necessary to move this quantity of contraband demonstrates the lengths to which criminal gangs will go to avoid paying excise duty. An average pack of cigarettes costs €7.45 and the duty collected is €5.84. Criminal gangs can make a fortune from this kind of activity.”

Customs officials yesterday put the operation’s success down to the establishment of a multi-agency cross border group, set up in August last year, targeting the smuggling activities of organised criminal groups operating on both sides of the border.

Customs officials did not link the cigarette haul to dissident republicans.