Counterfeit cigarettes seized from illegal Dublin factory

Boxes of cigarettes were seized by Irish Customs and Revenue on Friday

Counterfeit cigarettes with a retail value of €630,000 (£538,000) have been seized from an illegal factory in Dublin.

They were recovered on Friday as part of an intelligence-led operation between Gardaí (Irish police) and Irish Revenue and Customs.

Gardaí (Irish police) said the value of the cigarettes represented a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost €500,000 (£427,000).

International investigation

Revenue and Customs said 758,000 illegal cigarettes were packaged and labelled as a well-known brand and were ready for distribution.

More than 1.4 tonnes (1400kg) of raw tobacco was also discovered during the search of the illegal commercial cigarette factory.

The equipment at the production plant is believed to have had the capacity to produce more than 250,000 cigarettes per hour, along with pre-processing and packaging facilities.

Investigations are ongoing nationally and internationally.