A major haul of cigarettes, alcohol and cash worth up to €390,000 was seized during Revenue operations in Dublin and Donegal this week.
The operations, which were unrelated, involved several searches over recent days.
The Donegal seizure included cash to the value of approximately €57,500, comprising €42,102 and £13,240.
Other discoveries in Dublin include 37,600 cigarettes of various brands, with an estimated value of €31,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €24,800. Cash to the value of €2,935 (euro) and a quantity of alcohol were also seized.
Both of these seizures were made as a result of intelligence led operations and with the assistance of Detector Dog Toby.
Two women have been questioned in relation to these discoveries.
Detector Dog Toby
It is suspected that the cash is the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity and is detained by Revenue in accordance with proceeds of crime legislation. Revenue officers were granted a three-month cash detention order in respect of each cash discovery.
In addition, Revenue officers examining parcels at a premises in Dublin seized approximately 9.5kgs of herbal cannabis, with a value of almost €189,000, various quantities of other illegal drugs, with an estimated value of approximately €9,400, and a quantity of retail goods, with an estimated value of over €101,000.
The retail goods seized consisted of 535 branded items including Adidas, Birkenstock, Calvin Klein, Celine and Chanel.
These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295.
