Contraband was aimed to flood Christmas market

THE largest seizure of contraband cigarettes in the history of the state was made in Greenore, Co Louth, yesterday on a ship carrying up to 120 million cigarettes, enough to flood the Irish market.

“This is a significant strike against organised crime,” Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy said.

The ship, which had left the Philippines for Ireland last month, was impounded, as were the lorries which carried away the contraband and nine men remained in custody last night after the multi-agency operation.