Customs officers at Dublin Airport today seized 254,000 cigarettes and two motor vehicles in an anti-smuggling operation.
The cigarettes were seized from 19 passengers who arrived on a charter flight from the Canary Islands at 3am this morning.
As part of the operation Customs Officers, with the assistance of Airport Police, seized two vehicles carrying smuggled cigarettes on the exit road from the airport.
The cigarettes, which included Benson Hedges, John Player Blue, CK, Dorchester, Palace, Mayfair and Silk Cut brands, are valued at €94,000 and represented a potential exchequer loss of €73,600.
Files are being prepared with a view to prosecution.
In 2008 over 38 million cigarettes and 1,672Kgs of tobacco were seized at Dublin Airport.
