Two held over haul of cigarettes

Two Polish men arrested at the weekend on charges related to the seizure of thousands of euro worth of cigarettes at Cork Airport were remanded in custody for a week yesterday.

Judge Con O’Leary remanded the two men at Cork District Court yesterday on the application of Customs and Excise on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“This could take up to a week, there is an international investigation concerning this case,” Customs and Excise officer Mark O’Sullivan said yesterday.

Bartosz Tomasz Janeda, aged 27, of Wielkopolski, Nowaczyka, Poland, is accused of evasion of excise duty on 28,200 cigarettes valued at €13,366, and the alternative charge of attempted evasion.

Mikolaj Michal Jozwiak, aged 20, of Powstancow, Wielkopolskich, Poland, faces two similar charges in respect of €13,842 worth of cigarettes.