REVENUE'S CUSTOMS officers have seized six million contraband cigarettes valued at some €2.2 million. The haul was found in the container of a lorry labelled fruit and vegetables after the container was collected from Rosslare Port, Co Wexford.
The seizure is one of the largest in recent times involving cigarettes being illegally smuggled into the State without taxes and duties being paid.
Had it not been detected, it would have cost the exchequer in the Republic some €1.65 million in taxes and duties forgone.
The cigarettes, which were of the LM and Regal brands, were found after a lorry was searched yesterday morning. The vehicle had come to the port to collect the container which had been in freight from Cherbourg, France, on Saturday. The haul is believed to have travelled into France overland from Spain.
The driver of the vehicle, from Northern Ireland, was questioned when the discovery was made. However, he was not arrested and, according to well-placed sources, is not a suspect.