Garda inquiry ordered as seized cigarettes disappear

The Garda Commissioner has ordered an investigation into the disappearance of a consignment of cigarettes seized by the force, it has emerged.

The contraband cigarettes were seized by the Garda National Drugs Unit based at Dublin Castle, from where they went missing.

The investigation, which was ordered last week, is being conducted by a senior officers from outside the Division, a short Garda statement said.

A Garda spokesman could not say how many cigarettes were seized or when and gave no further details on the incident.

However, it is believed the missing cigarettes, thought to be up to 30,000, were part of a haul of an estimated 1.6 million seized in Tullamore, Co Offaly last July. The cigarettes were found hidden in a lorry carrying steel girders.

The consignment was found to be missing when officers disturbed burglars in a Dublin house six weeks ago, it has been reported. The burglars dropped a number of cigarettes, which were later found to be part of the Co Offaly seizure.

The Garda National Drugs Unit was established in 1995 and is under the command of a Chief Superintendent.