Customs officers seized their biggest ever consignment of contraband cigarettes at Rosslare Harbour yesterday. The cigarettes, valued at over £900,000, were concealed behind pallets of lettuce on a container vessel. A spokeswoman for the Revenue Commissioners said yesterday the find was made after a "profiling" of the consignment. The spokeswoman said "profiling" was a standard risk analysis procedure which the Revenue used to track previous trends in the patterns of a vessel's movements. The container carrying the cigarettes had arrived from Spain. The driver of a truck, an Irishman in his 40s, was detained for questioning and later released.
A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Revenue Commissioners said the cigarettes were destined for the illegal tobacco trade North and South.