Customs seizes 4m cigarettes at port

CUSTOMS have seized another multi-million euro consignment of counterfeit cigarettes.

Revenue customs officers confiscated 4.2 million cigarettes in Cork port, with a potential loss in taxes of €1.5m to the Exchequer.

It is the second massive haul of cigarettes at the port and follows another haul of 4.2m cigarettes there last January.

It brings to 9m the total amount seized in Cork port so far this year, far more than in the last five years.

A Revenue spokesman said the cigarettes were found inside a 20ft container marked as toys on the manifest.

The cigarettes were manufactured in China and then shipped to a major northern European port.

They were then transported to Cork port on a feeder vessel.

The Revenue spokesman said the manifest stated that the consignment was destined for what turned out to be a fictitious company in the Munster region.

“The cigarettes were John Player Blues and we expect they were destined for the Munster market and beyond,” said the spokesman.

He said the cigarettes were counterfeit and had all the appropriate packaging, including warnings in English and Irish, and false tax stamps.

Revenue suspect the haul and last January’s consignment may be linked, as they had the same modus operandi, and were sourced from China.

Revenue estimates counterfeit cigarettes — which are poorer quality than legitimate cigarettes — sell for around €20 for a carton of 10 packs.

The cartons are believed to cost the smugglers in the region of €5 a carton, providing substantial profits, even after transportation and distribution.

The haul brings the nationwide tally of cigarettes seized to date to 70m. Last year saw a record total haul of 218m, including the seizure of 120m cigarettes in Greenore Port, Co Louth, last October, the biggest ever seizure in the EU. The tally for 2008 was 135m.

Customs investigations into the latest haul at Cork Port are continuing.