254,000 cigarettes seized at Dublin Airport

Updated: 16:08, Friday, 16 January 2009

An estimated 254,000 cigarettes and two vehicles have been seized at Dublin Airport in an anti-smuggling operation.

1 of 1 Dublin Airport Cigarettes seized from passengers
Dublin Airport
Cigarettes seized from passengers

The cigarettes were seized from 19 passengers who arrived on a charter flight from the Canary Islands at 3am this morning.

The intelligence-led operation was against a Northern Ireland-based gang.

As part of the operation, customs officers with the assistance of airport police, seized two vehicles carrying smuggled cigarettes on the exit road from the airport.

The cigarettes, which included Benson & Hedges, John Player Blue, CK, Dorchester, Palace, Mayfair and Silk Cut brands, are valued at €94,000 and represent a potential exchequer loss of €73,600.

Files are being prepared with a view to prosecution.

Dublin Airport Customs Manager Shay Doyle said: 'This is significant success for Customs at the airport. We have already seized a million cigarettes since the beginning of the month.'

In 2008 over 38 million cigarettes and 1,672kg of tobacco were seized at Dublin Airport.

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