‘If I was Nidge from Love/Hate I’d deal in tobacco, not drugs’

A specialist Garda agency has launched a nationwide operation to crack down on the booming trade in illicit cigarettes in dodgy markets and rogue ethnic shops.

The intelligence-led investigation is using sophisticated methods to identify where the vast quantities of dodgy cigarettes coming into the country are sold.

An estimated €250 million is lost to the State in taxes from the trade each year, while the industry estimates it is deprived of some €500m worth of retail sales.