INVESTIGATIONS ARE still ongoing this week following one of the largest seizures of illegal cigarettes in recent memory in Enniscorthy. The eight-million cigarettes which are valued at €4.2million were seized following a large scale operation from Revenue Officers at a commercial premises on the Old Dublin Road last week.

According to Revenue officers, the contraband cigarettes had been smuggled into Dublin Port from Vietnam via Rotterdam on Friday, June 10, in a container that was marked “Garden Furniture”. The “Aroma” branded cigarettes carried a potential loss to the exchequer of around €3.3million.

A spokesperson for Revenue said that, while nobody has been arrested as of yet, they are following a definitive line of enquiry and investigations are ongoing.

“The illegal trade in tobacco products takes funds from the exchequer; hurts legitimate trade; funds criminal activity and undermines public health and the Government’s anti-smoking policies,” the spokesperson said. “I can confirm that in the course of this operation, a commercial premises in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Enniscorthy was searched and there was a number of follow-up searches. The operation involved Revenue teams from the East South East Region, the Dublin Region and the Investigations and Prosecutions Division. Investigations are ongoing, but for operational reasons, no further information is available.”

Anyone with any information on the illegal cigarettes or smuggling are encouraged to contact Revenue’s Confidential Free Phone Number on 1800 295295.

The “Aroma” branded cigarettes came from Vietnam and were seized at a commercial premises on the Old Dublin Road.