Revenue has seized contraband including tobacco, cigarettes and cocaine worth almost €570,000 in Dublin, the midlands, Rosslare and Waterford.

In recent days, Revenue officers seized contraband with an estimated value of almost €570,000 in various operations in Dublin, the midlands, Rosslare Europort and Waterford.

The detections were made as a result of risk profiling and intelligence led operations, and included:

Almost 3kg of cocaine, with an estimated value of over €205,000;
Over 14kg of herbal cannabis, with an estimated value of over €280,500;
2.5kg of cannabis resin, with an estimated value of €14,800;
Various other illicit drugs, with an estimated value of €2,600;
Tobacco products with an estimated value of over €19,500;
395 counterfeit items, with an estimated value of almost €40,000.

The cocaine was seized, as part of an intelligence-led-operation at Dublin Airport, when Revenue officers searched three passengers and their baggage after they disembarked a flight from Paris, France.

The passengers, two males in their 30s and a woman in her 20s, were arrested and have since appeared before the courts.

The herbal cannabis and other illicit drugs were discovered while Revenue officers, with the assistance of detector dogs Ciara, Grace and Sam, were examining parcels at premises in Dublin and the midlands.

The parcels originated in the USA, the UK, Canada, Thailand, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands, and were destined for addresses nationwide.

Over 19,700 cigarettes, with a value of approximately €17,800 and representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €12,000 and almost 2kg of rolling tobacco, with a value of €1,715 and representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €1,200, were seized in separate operations in Kilkenny, Waterford and the midlands.

The counterfeit goods were seized as they were confirmed by the rights holder to have infringed on Intellectual Property Rights.

In addition to the above, over 164L of alcohol, with a retail value of €4,200 and representing a potential loss to the Exchequer €1,600, were seized in Rosslare Europort and the midlands.

Numerous weapons were also seized in operations across the country and investigations into all seizures are ongoing.

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.

The various illicit drugs included 425 Alprazolam, Diazepam, Zolpidem and Zopiclone tablets, edibles (1kg), ketamine (10.4g), MDMA (5.5g) and cannabis oil (2ml).

The counterfeit goods consisted of goods branded: Adidas; Asics; Birkenstock; Chanel; Christian Dior; Christian Louboutin; Crocs; Emporio Armani; Ferrari; Golden Goose; Hoka; Hugo Boss; Liverpool; Moncler; New Balance; Nike; ON Cloud; Onitsuka; Palm Angels; and Ugg.

The seized alcohol consisted of 33L of beer, 6L of spirits, 9.5L unlabelled alcohol and 116L of wine.

The cigarettes and tobacco seized were of various brands, including Marlboro Gold, Chesterfield red, Chesterfield blue, Chesterfield Blue Slim, Pall Mall Blue, Camel, Amber Leaf and West Red.

The weapons seized included 10 smoke cartridges, an accessory magazine, a samurai sword, three tactical gauntlets with throwing knives, five smoke generators, a hunting knife and a flick knife.