Officers from Revenue's custom and excise service believe they have uncovered one of the State's largest pornography distribution centres after a 10-day investigation in Co Cork.
Pornographic videos, DVDs and magazines with an estimated street value of over €500,000 were found in a warehouse in Cork yesterday.
It is believed the haul was destined for the Munster market and distribution throughout the country.
No arrests had been made last night but a spokesman for Revenue said the investigation was continuing. A file was being prepared for the DPP.
Some 10 officers began a surveillance operation in the county last Tuesday after a small amount of pornography was discovered on a pallet in air freight at Cork Airport.
The haul was discovered as a result of routine profiling at the airport. The material was flown into Cork last week from a destination on the Continent. It is understood the haul had either passed through or come directly from Germany.
Following the discovery officers identified a number of premises in Cork which they put under surveillance.
They raided a lock-up warehouse in Co Cork yesterday where they made the discovery. It is believed the haul found at the airport was destined for that address.
Most of the haul discovered at the warehouse originated in Germany. It included 10,000 videos, about 2,400 DVDs and almost 4,000 pornographic magazines and other publications. It was stored in 100 cardboard boxes and bin-liner plastic bags.
An extensive search of the warehouse was conducted in the hope of finding clues about the destination of the material.
The haul will now be examined by the censor to see if its contents are banned under Irish law. It is not illegal to sell some categories of pornography in the Republic. However, much of the material seized in Cork is believed to be of a hard-core variety. Such material is illegal here.
If was not known if any child pornography was discovered. The volume of the material intercepted is so large that it will take at least a week to examine it.
The pornographic industry in Europe has flourished with advances in information technology, coupled with the growing popularity of the Internet. The relaxation of boundaries between member-states has also made it easier to transport material within the EU.
