Contraband worth over €7 million has been seized by Revenue officers over recent days during the course of numerous unrelated operations in Dublin, Athlone and Cork.
The seizures included 3.42 million cigarettes, with an estimated value of €2.9 million, at the Port of Cork and 194.5kg of herbal cannabis, worth almost €3.9 million at Dublin Port.
Revenue said the discoveries were made as a result of “risk profiling”.
The illicit cigarettes were detected with the assistance of detector dog Rua when Revenue officers stopped and searched an unaccompanied trailer which had arrived from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Revenue said the cigarettes represented a potential loss to the Exchequer of €2.25 million and a man in his 20s was questioned in relation to the seizure. The cigarettes were branded Winston and Mac Extra.
The herbal cannabis was detected with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile X-ray scanner when officers examined a trailer that had arrived from Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The drugs were discovered concealed in vacuum-packed packages in a consignment of suitcases.
Revenue officers also made a number of discoveries when examining parcels at premises in Dublin and Athlone, which included: almost 10.4kg of herbal cannabis, with an estimated value of €207,000; various quantities of other illicit drugs, with an estimated value of €2,500, including cannabis oil, cannabis edibles, magic mushrooms, Benzodiazepine, Diazepam, Tapentadol, Zolpidem and Zopiclone tablets; 4,800 unstamped cigarettes, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €2,600; and a quantity of retail goods, with an estimated value of €10,750.
The illegal drugs were discovered in parcels originating from the USA, the UK, Canada, Spain, Poland, India and Thailand, and were intended for addresses nationwide.
The retail goods were seized due to infringements of Intellectual Property Rights and included Adidas, Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, New Balance, Nike, Off White and Tag Heuer items.
Revenue said the seizures are part of its ongoing work targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity. It added that if businesses or members of the public have any information they can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295.
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