Dissidents suspected in cigarette haul

DISSIDENT republicans are suspected of being behind a shipment of up to 30 million smuggled cigarettes seized by Customs officers in Co Louth yesterday.

If sold legitimately, they would have retailed for just under €12 million.

The cigarettes were shipped from Russia and off-loaded at Greenore Port, then brought by lorries to a yard outside Dundalk.

Last October, 120 million cigarettes – the largest ever in a single seizure in Europe – were found concealed in a shipment of grain that also docked at Greenore.

Yesterday’s seizure was hidden inside large pallets of timber.

Sean Kelleher, assistant principal officer in charge of revenue enforcement and anti-evasion in the border region, said: “This is a very significant seizure in the ongoing battle to deter and detect illegal importation of cigarettes into this country.”

The size of the shipment suggests the Regal and Superking cigarettes would have been sold primarily in Britain and its seizure is “a deterrent to smugglers of contraband”, he added.

The cartons were concealed inside pallets of timber. However, they could not be seen until the outside planks were removed.

“This was a very sophisticated operation and a lot of work went into the preparation of the shipment,” said a Customs source.

The yard was one of a number of locations searched yesterday. The yard’s owners are not believed to be involved in any way with the haul.