Gangs net €3m a week from illegal cigarette trade, claims tobacco company

CRIMINAL gangs here are making about €3 million every week from the illegal cigarette trade, according to an Irish tobacco company.

PJ Carroll claims that organised crime is making a profit of €1.3m from every container of smuggled cigarettes.

PJ Carroll made the claims as its parent company, British American Tobacco, announced it was providing $200m (€134m) in funding to the European Commission over the next 20 years to combat the illicit trade.