Customs officers at Dublin Port today seized more than seven million cigarettes with an estimated street value of some €3.1million.
The discovery was made when officers intercepted and examined a 40-foot container, which had arrived in Dublin from Spain via The Netherlands.
The haul of Marlboro brand cigarettes was hidden in a shipment labelled “office furniture”. A Customs spokeswoman said the discovery was made as a result of "risk profiling".
She said the cigarettes, if sold on the black market, would have cost the Exchequer about €2.4 million in lost revenues. An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
It is estimated that cigarette smuggling costs the Exchequer at least €400 million a year.
Last year, the value of smuggled cigarettes seized by Customs here was more than €218 million, up 60 per cent on the previous year. Almost 60 per cent of this total related to counterfeit cigarettes, while the rest was genuine cigarettes illegally imported from other countries.
Benny Gilsenan, spokesman for Retailers Against Smuggling, praised the seizure but stressed the need for a clampdown on the illegal trade.
“We are still being seen as the soft touch by international criminals despite our fines structure being reviewed earlier this year,” Mr Gilsenan said.
“Until the Government start to hand out appropriate sentences, then Ireland is going to continue to be a target for the illegal cigarette trade. Customs are doing a fantastic job, but more needs to be done by Government. The legitimate Irish retailer cannot cope with the situation at present.”
