Revenue seize eight million cigarettes at Dublin Port
Customs dog Casey has helped save the public purse millions of euro with yet another discovery of black market cigarettes.
In her latest operation, she uncovered a massive haul of eight million cigarettes elaborately hidden within window frames arriving off a boat from Rotterdam.
Revenue officials say the find has saved the exchequer €3.6 million in potentially lost taxes.
The consignment was intercepted as it arrived on a Latvian-registered truck and trailer into Dublin Port.
Revenue said the springer cross “uncovered the elaborate concealment of cigarettes hidden within the glazing spaces of window frames”.
The packets branded Minsk Capital, NZ Gold and Pect are believed to have originated in Belarus.
“Investigations are continuing,” said a spokeswoman.
The latest find is Casey’s fourth major detection of black market cigarettes in the capital so far this year.
In January, she sniffed out more than 7.5 million cigarettes at Dublin Port, with a retail value of over €3.5 million.
They had been hidden under black plastic in a 45 foot container marked “breakfast cereals”.
In March, she discovered a 14.5 tonne haul of partially processed tobacco with a street value of almost €87,000 at the port.
In July, she helped recover tobacco valued at more than €22,000 during an operation in Dublin’s inner city.
It is estimated the exchequer could have been hit with losses of more than €7 million without the finds.
