Customs officers have announced the seizure of more than £45,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes and alcohol in two separate operations at the weekend.
Following a week-long surveillance operation at Dublin Port, officials seized 21,000 cigarettes on Friday. Two men from south Armagh who had arrived on a ferry from Holyhead were detained for questioning and later released. It is believed the cigarettes, valued together with the vehicle at £14,000, were destined for Northern Ireland.
In the second operation, 1,092 litres of beer and 45,000 cigarettes were seized after a search of an articulated truck which had arrived in Dublin Port from Holyhead. The smuggled goods were concealed in a consignment of flowers. Valued along with the vehicle at £33,000, it is believed they were destined for the illegal Dublin street trade.
The driver of the truck, a man in his mid-40s with a Welsh address, was questioned by customs officers and later released. Files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in both cases.