Revenue has reported the seizure of 23,00 cigarettes, worth approximately €12,000, following routine profiling of traffic arriving in a ferry from France at Rosslare Europort.
The seizure was made at the end of June of this year, when a people-carrier was stopped and searched. Revenue stated that with the assistance of detector dog, Alfie, the cigarettes were found hidden in the floor of the vehicle.
The car was seized and the driver, a Lithuanian national, was arrested and appeared in Gorey District Court early this month.
The combined retail value of the smuggled cigarettes, which were branded as Minsk, NL’s Newline, NZ Gold Superslims and Winston Blues, represents a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €9,500.
According to date recently published by KPMG, 15% of cigarettes consumed in Ireland in 2015 came from the illicit trade, marking a second year of growth in a row for the black market trade.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
