Two charged over cigarette smuggling

Customs officers at Dublin airport yesterday seized cigarettes valued at €12,800 during a search of baggage.

Customs officers at Dublin airport yesterday seized cigarettes valued at €12,800 during a search of baggage.

Customs officers discovered 32,000 "L & M" brand cigarettes, representing a potential exchequer loss of €10,500.

Two Lithuanian nationals with addresses in Kaunas were arrested during a Customs operation targeting cigarette smuggling from the Baltic region.

The men who were arrested appeared before Judge William Early in the Dublin District Court where were remanded on €300 bail. Both had to surrender their passports and have been ordered to sign on daily at Store Street Garda Station.

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Both men are due to appear again at Dublin District Court on Friday.

During the last three weeks, a total of seven people have been arrested for cigarette smuggling offences as part of a campaign against smuggling of cigarettes from the Baltics and Eastern Europe.

Customs Officers at Dublin airport have seized 19.75 million cigarettes and 2,290kgs of tobacco so far this year.