Revenue seize cannabis, cigarettes and tobacco worth almost €4.9m at Dublin Port and Athlone

Last Friday, February 15, Revenue officers seized approximately 6,000kg of roll-your-own tobacco and 2,400 cigarettes at Dublin Port.

This seizure was made with the assistance of Revenue’s x-ray mobile scanner as a result of routine operations.

The contraband was discovered hidden in a shipment marked as ‘PVC Resin Floor Sealer’ which originated in Belgium and had arrived in an unaccompanied trailer via Zeebrugge.

The tobacco seized was branded ‘Flandria Virginia Green Label’ and ‘Flandria Virginia Yellow label’ while the seized cigarettes were branded ‘Benson and Hedges’ and ‘L and M’.

The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes have an estimated retail value of over €4.5 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost €3.5 million.

Separately, on Monday, 20 February, Revenue officers at Dublin Port seized a further 12.3kg of roll-your-own tobacco, which was concealed in a consignment marked ‘food’, during a routine check.

They were assisted by detector dog Milo and Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner.

The tobacco was branded ‘Golden Virginia’ and ‘Sopianie’ and has an estimated retail value of over €9,300, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer in excess of €7,000.

The package originated in Poland and had arrived into Ireland in a van via Cherbourg, France.

And today, 22 February, Revenue officers seized more than 17.9kg of herbal cannabis while examining parcels at a premises in Athlone during routine operations.

The drugs were worth almost €359,000 and were discovered in two parcels destined for addresses in Dublin and Louth which had originated in Spain and Italy.

A Revenue spokesperson confirmed that investigations into all three seizures are ongoing.

“These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the shadow economy and the supply of illegal tobacco products and drugs. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on the free phone number 1800 295 295,” they added.