Some 10 million cigarettes with a potential retail value of €4.2 million were seized in the port of Cork today.
The seizure was made as Customs officers searched a 40ft container recently arrived from Malaysia as part of an operation with the European Anti Fraud Office.
The cigarettes were hidden in the container and were declared as “paper stationery”.
The Club 88 brand cigarettes were manufactured in Malaysia and represent a €3.5 million loss to revenue. A Customs spokesman said it is the first time revenue officers have seized this brand.
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To date this year some 54 million cigarettes with a retail value of approximately €22.5 million have been seized by Customs.