Three men held over seizure of €1.2m illegal cigarettes

THREE million illegal cigarettes worth €1.2 million were seized yesterday in a joint operation by customs officials and gardaí.

Three males were arrested after the stash was discovered in Dublin Port on cargo from China and followed to a warehouse in Carlow. The John Player King Size branded contraband cigarettes arrived into the country last Friday in a 40-foot container which had been listed as containing toys.

Customs officers kept the container under surveillance and when the cigarettes were being offloaded in Carlow its officers, supported by gardaí, moved in.