CIGARETTES and tobacco with a retail value of £5,200 have been seized by members of the Customs Investigations Branch, assisted by the Garda, from street traders in Dublin's city centre.
A spokesman for the Revenue Commissioners said 31,660 cigarettes and 15.4 kilos of roll your own tobacco were seized as part of an ongoing operation.
Over 760,000 cigarettes and more than 545 kilos of tobacco have been seized so far this year by Customs. In 1995 they seized 25 million cigarettes and 711 kilos of tobacco.
Since last Monday, selling cigarettes without a tax stamp has been illegal, carrying a £1,000 fine. The tax stamp must now be affixed to every packet of cigarettes sold in the State. The stamp is used for collecting and controlling excise duty on cigarettes.