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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Sophie Collins

Revenue officers seize cannabis and cigarettes in €617,000 haul as two men arrested

Revenue officers seized a whopping €617,000 worth of contraband at Rosslare Port across Sunday and Monday after investigating an unaccompanied trailer and a vehicle arriving in from France.

The first part of this bust came during routine profiling and consisted of 28.5kgs of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of more than €570,000 hidden on the unaccompanied trailer.

Investigations have been launched as officers work to find the owner of the trailer so they can be charged.

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Separately, 60,000 cigarettes were found concealed in a vehicle and were valued at €37,000.

It is understood that two men - in their 30s and 40s - have been questioned but investigations are ongoing.

A Revenue spokesperson confirmed: “Today (20/03/2023), as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers seized over 28.5kgs of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of more than €570,000 at Rosslare Europort.

“The illicit drugs were discovered with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile X-ray scanner and detector dog Jasper, concealed within a groupage load of an unaccompanied trailer that had arrived from Cherbourg, France on Sunday (19/03/2023).

“Investigations are ongoing.

“Separately, as part of an intelligence-led operation on Saturday (18/03/2023), Revenue officers seized 60,000 cigarettes following the search of a vehicle in Drogheda, Co. Louth.

“The illicit cigarettes, branded ‘Minsk’, have an estimated retail value of €47,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of approximately €37,000.

“Two men in their 30s and 40s have been questioned.

“Investigations are ongoing.

“These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing work targeting smuggling, shadow economy activity 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 1800 295 295”.

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