Police shut down an illegal tobacco processing plant, the first discovery of its kind in Northern Ireland, in a series of raids in conjunction with an investigation into tobacco fraud valued at GBP 110 million (EUR 146 million), the BBC said.

Twelve tonnes of tobacco, two million cigarettes and GBP 50,000 in cash was recovered. Police searched nine addresses in Northern Ireland, while police in the Republic of Ireland simultaneously searched addresses in Louth and Dublin, the BBC said. Five people were arrested in Northern Ireland.
RYO pouches also were seized. A UK customs official told BBC as much as one third of the country’s RYO tobacco is supplied from illegal sources.