High prices lead to hike in cigarette smuggling

CIGARETTE smuggling is becoming a very serious problem in Ireland because a combination of the highest price in the European Union and the economic downturn is making it very attractive to smugglers.

Dave Godwin, head of the Customs Criminal Investigations in Dublin, said that with the price of a cigarette packet now about €8.45 and the tax and duties accounting for €6.63 of that, the market was lucrative for smugglers.

“We are even seeing counterfeit John Player Blue, a brand almost uniquely confined to Dublin. They are going to the trouble of replicating in good quality the packaging and the Irish tax stamp,” said Mr Godwin.