THE LARGEST seizure of contraband cigarettes in the history of the State and possibly in Europe was made in Greenore, Co Louth, yesterday on a ship carrying up to 120 million cigarettes which had left the Philippines for Ireland last month.
Nine men remained in custody last night as the multi-agency operation, which was led by Irish Customs and Revenue officers, continued. Five other locations in Louth were searched, including a warehouse.
Sources believe the shipment was organised, at great cost, by criminals operating on both sides of the Border but the possibility that part of it was destined for dissident republicans is also being investigated.
One Customs source said: “This seizure will send out shock waves.”
A spokesperson for Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said: “These were obviously destined for the Christmas market and if they had not been seized, there would have been a loss of legitimate income to the State.”
The Revenue Commissioners estimate the cigarettes would have been sold for about €50 million and represented a loss of about €40 million to the State in taxes and excise duties.
The cigarettes are thought to have been produced in the Philippines and the vessel was kept under surveillance from when it left there on September 15th until it docked in Greenore early yesterday morning.
The MV Anne Scanis a general cargo vessel some 80 metres in length which is German-owned but was chartered from the Philippines.
The documents with the cargo stated it was animal feed but the investigation suspected it was contraband cigarettes.
About the top quarter of each of the one-tonne bags of feed was genuine; the rest contained packets of two brands of cigarettes including Palace, which are normally sold in Britain.
Customs officers, with support from armed gardaí, were at Greenore port when the shipment was being off-loaded. They allowed four articulated trucks, each carrying 20 bags of the “feed”, to leave the port for a commercial warehouse near Dundalk. However, they were under surveillance at all times.
When officers made themselves known at the warehouse and at the port, nine arrests were made.
In addition to the trucks impounded there, two others were seized at the port as they prepared to take the cigarettes to their next destination.
Among those arrested were the ship’s captain and first mate, a Ukrainian and a Lithuanian. The rest are Irish, aged between 19 and mid-50s.
The significance of the seizure was underlined by Ursula O’Neill, assistant principal Customs investigator, who said: “This would have represented a significant investment for the criminal group behind this – they would have had to charter the vessel as well as pay for the cargo.”