Customs seize £2m of illegal cigarettes

Almost 14 million contraband cigarettes with a value of £2.1 million were seized by customs officers this week at Dublin Port.

The haul brings to a record 34 million the total number of cigarettes seized this year, more than four times last year's total.

The latest find was made on Wednesday during a routine search of containers from Asia. The cigarettes, bearing a bogus Benson and Hedges brand, were hidden in two 40-ft containers which had arrived from China and were declared as carrying audio cassettes.

Officers believe the cigarettes were mainly for the UK market. As they bore no health warnings nor any excise stamps, it would have been difficult to distribute them here except through the unlicensed street trade or vending machines.

No arrests were made.

A spokesman for the Revenue Commissioners said it was satisfied its efforts were impacting on the illegal street trade in cities like Dublin and Cork.

"Our strategy has been to fight it on both levels, at the point of entry to the State and on the streets. It is working although we're not resting on our laurels."

In 1998, customs officers and gardai seized products from street vendors on 91 occasions. Some 27 people were convicted of the illegal sale of counterfeit goods.