Customs officials seized over three million cigarettes in a raid on a warehouse in Ennis, Co Clare, this morning.
The smuggled Sovereign brand cigarettes, valued at £700,000, were found hidden beneath insulating material in a container that came off a ship from the Greek port of Pireas.
The smugglers stood to evade up to £500,000 in tax by selling the cigarettes on the streets.
A local man has been interviewed about the find and a file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.