One of the four lorries used in the theft of £4m worth of cigarettes at Belfast Docks last night has been found empty and abandoned at Tullyesker, outside Drogheda. Gardaí believe that the cigarettes have been off-loaded. The lorry has been taken in by Gardaí for a technical examination. The Gardaí are continuing to co-operate with the RUC over the theft.
The RUC say that the robbers locked staff of a shipping company at Westbank Road into a container during the raid last night. They then loaded four containers of cigarettes into four lorries, which they drove off. The cigarettes were bound for Belgium. Four members of staff were locked up for over six hours by the seven-strong gang. They were freed at 5.00am when they were discovered by a security man. One staff member, who is a crane driver, was forced to unload two of the containers from a ship onto lorries.
The cigarettes were made in the North and were intended for export to Belgium. They had a health warning printed on them in Flemish, French and German. Detectives said that it was a well-planned operation.
