Fears of illegal cigarette plants operating as tobacco seizures soar 

Lobby group cites multi-tonne hauls of raw tobacco, worth an estimated €8m, seized in recent months

A Revenue seizure of 10.5 million cigarettes at Dublin Port.

Cigarette retailers suspect that illegal cigarette factories are operating along the Border such is the amount of raw tobacco being seized this year.

The country’s first ever underground commercial-scale factory was uncovered in north Co Louth in March 2018, which was estimated to be capable of producing 250,000 cigarettes per hour.