100,000 counterfeit cigarettes seized

COUNTERFEIT cigarettes 10 times more carcinogenic than shop-sold brands and containing traces of urine have been seized in a major crackdown.

Five people, including a 75-year-old woman and a man in his 60s, have been questioned by Customs officers following raids on 11 houses on the northside of Cork city.

Officers recovered packets of John Player Blue and Benson & Hedges, which had counterfeit Irish excise duty stamps on them and were made in China.

“These cigarettes are 10 times more carcinogenic. They contain floor sweepings, sawdust, don’t have the right filters and even contain traces of urine,” a Customs spokesman said.

A total of 18 officers armed with search warrants raided houses in the Blackpool and Farranree areas.

It was the culmination of a three-month intelligence-gathering operation codenamed “Operation Cue Ball”.

They found 100,000 counterfeit and contraband cigarettes in six of the houses, along with 12kg of “roll your own” tobacco.

The brands included Benson & Hedges, Classic Gold, Palace, Raquel, John Player Blue, Superkings and Samson and had a street value of more than €50,000.

Customs officers also seized a saloon car, a quantity of cash and a number of mobile phones.

They also questioned two men in their 40s and a woman in her 30s.

All those detained are believed to be related to each other.

The Customs spokesman said they were still seeking to talk to another man in his 60s who is believed to be out of the country.

“Anyone tempted to buy cheap cigarettes from an irregular source should be aware there’s a high possibility they’re buying counterfeit products, which provide an unknown set of health risks as they’re not subject to quality control,” the spokesman said.

Gerard Redmond, a spokesman for the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee, congratulated the Revenue’s Customs officers on the raids which took place last Thursday.

“The size of the resources deployed demonstrates the serious approach being taken by the authorities to tackle the illicit trade in tobacco products, a trade which will cost the Exchequer €500 million this year in lost excise and VAT,” Mr Redmond said.

He said massive profits were being made by cigarette smugglers and far stiffer penalties are needed to act as a deterrent.

“Between January and March this year the average fine handed out was €423. They have increased to around €1,000 of late, but custodial sentences are extremely rare,” Mr Redmond said.