A big find was made at Dublin Airport by Revenue after the search of an Irish man's bag.
After routine profiling of passengers on Thursday, Revenue stopped and searched the checked baggage of the man making a surprise discovery.
Inside the passenger's bag, who had just got off a flight from London Heathrow, officers found 31,600 cigarettes, Dublin Live reports.
The smuggled cigarettes branded ‘Benson & Hedges’ and ‘Rothmans’ have an estimated retail value of €22,000 representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €19,500.
The man was quizzed by Revenue officers but no arrest was made.
A spokesman for Revenue said: "Yesterday (04/02/2021), as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers seized 31,600 cigarettes at Dublin Airport, when they stopped and searched the checked baggage of an Irish man who had disembarked a flight from London Heathrow.
"Investigations are ongoing.
"These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting organised crime and the supply of illegal tobacco products.
"If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling they can contact Revenue in confidence on the confidential free phone number 1800 295 295."
Separately, on Tuesday at Dublin District Court, Revenue officers were granted a three month cash detention order by Judge Brian Smyth.
This followed the seizure on Monday (01/02/2021) of €22,400 at Dublin Airport, when as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers stopped two passengers that gotten off a flight from Gdansk, Poland.
The cash is suspected to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity.
A male and female in their sixties, originally from Poland were questioned in relation to the seizure.
