CIGARETTES WORTH €3.5 million were seized at Dublin Port yesterday.

The 7,680,000 ‘Manchester’ brand cigarettes were found by officers from Revenue’s Customs Service when they examined a 45 foot container which had arrived from Belgium.

The cigarettes were concealed beneath a layer of black plastic and were described on the manifest as “breakfast cereals”.

The officers were assisted by Revenue sniffer dog Casey.

In two separate operations at Dublin Airport over the past two days, 33,000 ‘Winston ‘ brand cigarettes were seized with a total retail value of bout €16,600.

Officers discovered the cigarettes in the luggage of two male Moldovan nationals who arrived separately on flights from Moldova via Istanbul.

These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes in the shadow economy.

If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.