Swoop on cigarette smugglers sees 15 arrested

OVER 100 gardaí as well as officials from Revenue and the Criminal Assets Bureau were yesterday involved in a major early morning operation which led to 15 arrests and the discovery of 100,000 contraband cigarettes.

The search and arrest swoop took place at 27 locations in Leinster and east Munster and the 13 men and two women detained were, last night, being held under anti-gang legislation introduced by the last government. One of the searches resulted in the detection of a consignment of 100,000 smuggled cigarettes at a premises in Carlow town.

The discovery was welcomed by a group representing retailers who claimed the country was “awash with illegal cigarettes”.

Areas targeted by investigators in yesterday’s operation included Carlow, Edenderry in Co Offaly, Portlaoise and Portarlington in Co Laois, Clonmel in Co Tipperary, and Waterford city. Those arrested range in age from 54 down to 18 and were brought to Garda stations in Carlow, Kilkenny, Thomastown, Clonmel, Thurles and Naas for questioning under section 50 of the 2007 Criminal Justice Act.

Two of those arrested were held on suspicion of directing a criminal organisation while the others were suspected of being involved in a criminal organisation.

The clampdown was the culmination of a year-long operation directed at organised crime and drug trafficking in Co Carlow and the wider south-east region. Previously, gardaí seized illegal drugs (amphetamines, cannabis and cocaine) worth about €4.4 million in 18 different seizures of drugs and cash as part of the operation.

“Carlow has had a drug problem for a number of years now, but no different to any provincial town,” a senior Garda said yesterday.

“Going back over the last five or six years, we’ve had some success against suppliers in Carlow. This [search and arrest operation] is just a natural follow-up to that.”

It’s understood that a review of the ongoing anti-drug operation started two months ago when an incident room was established in Carlow and senior officers reviewed the intelligence gathered during the 18 previous drug seizures.

Over 80 local gardaí were joined yesterday by up to 40 from elsewhere in the region, along with regional and national officers from Revenue and the CAB, and the searches got under way at 6am.

Retailers Against Smuggling — an organisation of shop owners which has campaigned for stronger action against the illegal cigarette trade — welcomed yesterday’s find.

“The fact that known gangs were targeted proves that cigarette smuggling has become a central part of organised crime activity in Ireland,” spokesman Benny Gilsenan said.