A judge has suspended a six-month prison sentence for two Moldovan men charged with cigarette smuggling on condition that they leave the country within 24 hours.

They were brought before Dublin Circuit Court yesterday on charges relating to the seizure of 30,800 cigarettes at Dublin airport last Saturday.

The men, aged 26 and 27, each pleaded guilty to an offence under section 119 of the Finance Act 2001, evasion of excise duty with intent to defraud the State.

Judge Smith also fined them €2,500 each.

Revenue officers found the smuggled “Marlboro Gold” cigarettes in the men’s checked-in baggage, when they arrived in Dublin last Saturday.

The smuggled cigarettes are worth more than f €16,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost €13,000.