14/07/2017

6.5m Smuggled Cigarettes Seized At Dublin Port

Up to 6.5 million smuggled cigarettes have been seized by Revenue officers at Dublin Port, that had arrived from Vietnam, via Rotterdam.

Revenue's mobile x-ray scanner was deployed in an intelligence-led operation and the cigarettes were identified in a shipping container said to contain "paper".

Simultaneously, Revenue officers carried out searches under warrant of premises in counties Roscommon and Waterford and the investigation is ongoing, with a view to prosecution.  

The seized cigarettes, 'cheap whites' branded "Jin Ling", have a retail value of €3.5 million representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of approximately €2.8 million.

Revenue continues to target the supply of illicit tobacco products, with a view to disrupting the supply chain, seizing the illicit product and prosecuting those responsible. This latest seizure brings to almost 15 million the number of smuggled cigarettes that Revenue have seized, entering the country in containerised cargo, in the last two weeks.

(MH/LM)

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