The Garda Commissioner has ordered an investigation into the disappearance of a quantity of seized cigarettes from Garda custody.
The missing cigarettes were part of a haul worth an estimated €1.6 million seized by the Garda National Drugs Unit in Tullamore, Co Offaly, last year.
They were being stored at the Garda National Drugs Unit's headquarters at Dublin Castle when they disappeared.
The quantity of missing cigarettes is not clear but one source put it at 30,000. Their disappearance came to light when burglars at a house in Dublin were found attempting to get away with them. An investigation by gardaí then found they were part of the original haul seized in Tullamore.
In a statement yesterday, the Garda press office said: "The Garda Commissioner, last week, directed an investigation into the disappearance of a quantity of cigarettes, which had been seized by the Garda National Drugs Unit based at Dublin Castle. The investigation is being conducted by a senior officer from an outside division."