New €1.6m scanner to aid Revenue in fight against smuggling

Revenue says its new mobile scanner unit will make the fight against smuggling more efficient.

Last year alone, over €30m worth of drugs and €23m worth of cigarettes were seized at Irish ports.

The new €1.6m scanner which, moves along the outside of trucks, has been part funded by the European Anti-Fraud Agency.

Revenue Chairman Niall Cody said that as global trade volumes continue to grow every year, Revenue’s challenge is to target and confront shadow economy activity, including fiscal fraud, fuel fraud, cash and tobacco smuggling, and drug trafficking, while at the same time facilitating the free flow of legitimate trade.

Acknowledging “increasingly agile and sophisticated” concealment techniques, the Revenue Chairman said that the new mobile scanner is the most powerful currently available on the market and uses imaging technology to analyse vehicles as well as shipping containers.

Mr Cody said that it will enable Revenue “to identify suspicious consignments quickly and efficiently, with minimum impact on legitimate trade.”