Holidaymakers quizzed over cigarettes haul

Eight holidaymakers from the North were quizzed at Dublin Airport after cigarettes worth €61,987 were seized.

Customs officers confiscated the goods on two flights which had arrived from the Canary Islands yesterday.

Two other people, from Co Cork and the Canary Islands, were also questioned.

“Files will be compiled and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” a Customs spokesman said.

The 160,000 cigarettes included Palace, Dorchester, Mayfair and Marlboro brands.

Revenue said the seizure and arrests were part of an ongoing operation against organised smuggling gangs.

The loss in excise duty and taxes to the Exchequer was estimated at €50,861.

Customs officers have seized four million cigarettes and 236kg (520lb) of tobacco at Dublin Airport so far this year.