Huge haul of contraband cigarettes seized

Customs officials have seized over two million contraband cigarettes smuggled into the country from China, it emerged today.

Officials confirmed the discovery of the €600,000 worth of cigarettes in the Tivoli Docks in Cork was significant.

“It was strongly suggested that they would have been going onto the Irish market as there was a sophisticated stamp on the packages to indicate duties had been paid,” a spokesman said.

The high standard of the fake stamp, which indicated tax duties had been paid for the Irish market, concerned officials.

The container was placed under surveillance by custom officials when it arrived at the weekend – two-weeks after it left the Chinese port.

The officials were alerted after an international surveillance operation revealed the ‘Benson and Hedges’ cigarettes were hidden in a consignment of men’s shirts shipped from Chinwan Port in China.

The contraband goods were first spotted in Rotterdam after Dutch customs officials x-rayed the container.

But they then allowed the shipment to proceed and alerted custom officials at its final destination of Cork.

Undercover officials then followed as the container was removed to a village in Co Limerick.

“Three Irish residents were stopped and taken by officials for questioning,” the spokesman said.

A file is now being sent to the DPP on the matter.

The consignment consisted of men’s shirts – with cigarettes concealed in the middle layers of the boxes surrounded by the packages.

This is the third major seizure of cigarettes at ports around the country this year.

More than 26 million contraband cigarettes have been seized so far this year.

Around 3.2 million illegal cigarettes were seized at Dublin Port in January, and 4.8 million contraband cigarettes were uncovered at Rosslare Port in Wexford last March.