Revenue officials have seized over 20.6 million illicit cigarettes in Dublin and Cork over a period of three days, reports The Irish Examiner.

Assisted by detector dog Rua, revenue officials first seized 7.3 million illicit cigarettes branded “Lambert and Butler” after searching an unaccompanied trailer arriving from Zeebrugge, Belgium. The illicit cigarettes were valued at over EUR 6.1 million, which equals a potential loss of EUR 4.8 million to the Exchequer, according to Revenue.
Two days earlier officials landed an even bigger coup with the help of detector dog Milo who sniffed out 13.3 million illicit cigarettes of various brands, including “Marlboro Slims”, “Marlboro Gold” and “L&M Red”, reports The Irish Examiner. The cigarettes confiscated in this seizure are said to have a value of over EUR 11 million which means a potential loss of EUR 8.9 million to the Exchequer.
According to the Irish Examiner, investigations into both seizures are still ongoing as part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the sale and supply of illegal cigarettes and tobacco in the so-called “shadow economy”, the Black Market.