Six men were arrested in the Netherlands and Dundalk, Co Louth, yesterday after several million euros worth of cigarettes were seized in Co Monaghan and the Netherlands as part of investigations into "Real IRA" activity.
Two men in their 30s from Dundalk were arrested and are being held in custody in the Netherlands on revenue offences connected with smuggling.
The arrests were made after a warehouse containing a large consignment of cigarettes was discovered by a Garda, Irish customs and Dutch police operation last Saturday.
A second large consignment of cigarettes was found in a warehouse in the Inniskeen area of Co Monaghan yesterday as part of the intelligence-led operation.
Four men in their 30s and 40s from the greater Dundalk area were then arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. They were held in Garda stations in the Louth/Meath area last night for questioning.
The warehouse was sealed off for examination by Garda technical experts and customs officers. Gardaí did not have an exact number for the amount of cigarettes, but they expect the consignment to be valued at several million euro.
Gardaí said last night the crackdown into dissident republican activity was continuing. Yesterday's operation was mounted by members of the Garda special detective unit, police authorities in the Netherlands, Irish customs and excise and gardaí from the Louth/Meath Division.