Investigations are ongoing after a number of contraband seizures were made recently by Revenue. Last week, two major seizures were made, one at Shannon Airport and one at Dublin Port.
On Friday, May 12 at Fermoy District Court, Revenue officers were granted a three-month cash detention order by Judge Joanne Carroll. This followed a seizure that day of €31,000 in cash and 6.5kgs of ‘roll your own tobacco’ from a residential property in Charleville.
The discovery was made when Revenue officers, assisted by detector dog Obi, conducted a search of the property under warrant.
Cash seized was comprised of denominations from €5 to €500 whilst the unstamped tobacco, branded ‘Amber Leaf’, had a retail value of almost €5,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €3,700.
A female in her 20s was questioned and investigations are ongoing.
On Wednesday, May 17 Revenue officers seized over 752,000 cigarettes at Dublin Port.
The cigarettes have an estimated retail value of approximately €594,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €465,000.
Brands such as ‘Dunhill’ and ‘Karelia Blue’ were among the smuggled cigarettes which were discovered concealed in metal boxes in a consignment which had originated in Bulgaria.
Separately on May 17, as a result of routine operations, Revenue officers seized 4kgs of herbal cannabis at Shannon Airport with the assistance of detector dog Harley.
The illegal drugs, with an estimated value of €80,000, were discovered in two separate parcels originating from the United States and were destined for an address in Tipperary.
In both cases, investigations are ongoing, according to Revenue.
These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the shadow economy and smuggling.
If businesses, or members of the public, have any information about smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on phone number 1800 295 295.
