Cigarettes in record haul 'could take two days to count'
Customs officials said unloading and counting the cigarettes seized in Europe’s largest ever haul of smuggled cigarettes could take as long as two days.
Initial inspections at Dublin Port revealed that at least five brands, including Palace, Chelsea and Superkings, were stashed in the haul.
Gerry Greenway, operations manager of the Revenue’s maritime unit, said a more precise breakdown of what was onboard will not be available until it has been fully counted.
“This is a huge logistical issue and requires huge man handling,” he said. “Until such time as the load is segregated and we have done the final tally I think whether it’s 115 million or 126 million we really can’t say until the goods are counted.”
The senior Customs official added: “We would hope that the investment by the people perpetrating this represents a major blow to their organisation and may have disrupted a very serious smuggling route.”
An Irish man, from Co Louth, a Ukrainian and a Lithuanian were arrested as an international investigation smashed the attempt to bring the huge haul of cigarettes into the country.
Six other Irish men detained after armed police intercepted a ship carrying the €50m contraband as it entered Greenore Port in Co Louth were released last night.
A garda spokesman said files were being prepared on each of the released men, two of whom are from Co Armagh in the North, for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Extensions were granted on the arrest warrants of the remaining three, including the ship’s captain and his first officer, a Ukrainian in his 40s and a Lithuanian in his 50s.
They are being held under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at garda stations in Drogheda and Dundalk, Co Louth.
One garda source said while inquiries would look at possible dissident republican involvement, there were no firm links yet established with breakaway terrorist factions.
“It’s definitely organised criminals, but how much involvement, if any, that republicans have remains to be seen,” said the source.
