Revenue officers have confiscated almost seven million cigarettes valued at €6.25 million during a search at Dublin Port, representing a potential loss of €4.9 million to the Exchequer.
The massive seizure occurred on Tuesday when customs officials examined an unaccompanied shipping container that had arrived from Rotterdam. The operation was carried out using routine profiling techniques, assisted by Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner and detector dog Milo.
The smuggled cigarettes, bearing the “Marlboro” brand, were discovered hidden within the container during the systematic inspection. Revenue officials acted under Section 141 of the Finance Act 2001 to confiscate the illegal tobacco products.
This seizure highlights the ongoing battle against cigarette smuggling operations that cost the Irish state millions in lost tax revenue annually. The Rotterdam route is frequently used by smuggling networks attempting to bring contraband tobacco products into Ireland through one of the country’s busiest ports.
The detection represents a significant success for Revenue’s anti-smuggling operations, which rely on a combination of intelligence gathering, advanced scanning technology, and specially trained detection dogs to identify suspicious cargo entering Irish ports.