Customs seize cigarettes worth €5.2m in Belfast

Customs officers in Belfast have intercepted smuggled cigarettes worth €5.2 million (£3.25 million sterling).

The cargo of almost 15 million cigarettes was hidden in two consignments of ceramic pots that arrived in the port from Antwerp in Belgium.

It is believed the duty-free cigarettes would have been sold on the black market in the North and in the Republic.

Last week, smuggled cigarettes were seized at Larne, Co Antrim, that would have cost the British taxpayer around €4 million in lost revenue.

PA