The Minister for Defence has sent a senior official from his Department to the UN headquarters in New York to see if any Irish soldiers were involved in the illegal trade of duty-free liquor and tobacco while serving with the UN in Cyprus.
The UN is understood to have recently completed a two-year investigation into allegations that personnel bought goods, mainly drink and cigarettes, from the British-run duty-free Naval Army and Air Force Institution (NAAFI) in Cyprus and sold on the goods on the open market.
