Customs officials foil €600k smuggling operation

A huge international operation led to the seizure of two million cigarettes smuggled into Cork from China.

The €600,000 haul of cigarettes smuggled into Tivoli docks was seized by customs officials in Kilfinane, Co Limerick.

The consignment had arrived in Cork from Rotterdam on Friday and was seized on Wednesday night.

The cigarettes were concealed in a batch of men’s shirts, which had originated in China. It is believed the batch was destined for the Limerick market.

“We had contact with the Dutch customs to say the consignment had arrived from China to Rotterdam, and that it was on its way to Ireland,” a customs spokesman told The Evening Echo.

A team of 15 customs officials from Cork and Limerick combined their efforts in seizing the haul.

“The consignment was trailed from Cork to Kilfinane in Limerick in a big operation. Three men were stopped by customs officers near Kilfinane. They were transferring the cigarettes from a container into a lorry,” said the spokesman.

The men — none of whom are from Cork — were questioned by customs officers in Limerick.

A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“What is significant is that the vast majority of cigarettes we catch have foreign brandings on them and are usually not for the Irish market,” explained the customs spokesman.

“But this consignment has very sophisticated Irish stamps, meaning that it was destined for the Irish market.

This is the first seizure involving Cork this year. In January, 3.2 million cigarettes were seized at Dublin port while 4.8 million cigarettes were seized in Rosslare in March.