Gardai have broken up a large cigarette smuggling operation run by suspected dissident republicans and arrested four men in Co Monaghan tonight as part of an ongoing operation into the financial and operational activities of the Real IRA.
Tonight's raid comes after a seizure of cigarettes in Holland over the weekend.
Gardai, in co-operation with police authorities in Holland and Irish customs, discovered a warehouse in Holland containing a large consignment of cigarettes.
The discovery was made on Saturday morning and two men in their 30's from the Dundalk area were arrested.
The men are currently in custody in Holland on revenue offences connected with smuggling.
As part of the same operation at 6 p.m. today a large consignment of cigarettes was discovered in a warehouse in the Inniskeen area of Co Monaghan.
Four men in their 30's and 40's from the Dundalk area were arrested under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and are being held in Garda stations in the Louth/Meath area.
The warehouse has been sealed off ahead of a forensic examination by Garda technical experts and customs officers.
The amount of cigarettes has yet to be quantified but is expected to run into several million euros in value.
