Gardaí crack international smuggling operation

Gardaí and customs officers, working in conjunction with Dutch police, have cracked an international smuggling operation following two seizures of contraband cigarettes.

The breakthrough came as part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of dissident republicans.

Six men and a woman have been arrested following raids in Ireland and Holland.

Gardaí say the cigarettes are worth several million euro.

The first seizure was made in Holland last Friday in which two men from the Dundalk area were arrested.

They are still being held in Holland on Revenue offences connected with smuggling.

As part of the same operation, gardaí raided a warehouse in Inniskeen in Co Monaghan at 6pm last night and found another significant consignment of cigarettes.

Four men in their 30s and 40s from the Dundalk area were arrested under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act and are being held in garda stations in Co Meath and Co Louth.

In a follow-up search, gardaí seized financial documents and a large sum of money in north Louth and arrested a woman in her 40s.

She is also being held at a station in Co Meath under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.