Senior Customs officers who oversaw the record seizure yesterday of 5,000 tonnes of contraband tobacco in Cork believe that the consignment was a major shipment destined for the continental black market.
The tobacco, worth an estimated €1.1 million, was concealed inside a freight container which had arrived by sea from Bangkok via Rotterdam. Customs officials said that the low-grade "roll your own" tobacco was bound for mainland Europe.
The criminals had chosen Cork as a drop-off point "more or less at random", they said. Smugglers often varied their drop-off points to deceive anti-smuggling agencies. Officials held out little hope of arresting the smugglers. The shipment had been loaded in Bangkok without the knowledge of the crew.
The container was dropped off at Cork Harbour two days ago. The contents, concealed within a delivery of earthenware, were uncovered during a routine inspection.
The shipment was divided into 100,000 counterfeit packets bearing the "Golden Virginia" brand name. At 5,232kg, the find exceeds the 4,780kg of tobacco recovered in 231 seizures last year. Customs officers said that the smugglers could have links with drug-traffickers.