The Garda believes the "Real IRA" were behind a hold-up of three gardai at gunpoint yesterday afternoon when counterfeit goods seized earlier by Customs officers were taken back.
The paramilitary hold-up took place less than 24 hours after President Clinton appealed to the people of Dundalk to make peace and not be at war with their neighbours.
The haul, conservatively estimated to be worth £100,000, was found in a mobile shop when Customs and Excise officers from Dundalk raided a diesel laundering operation at Carrickaneena at 8 a.m. yesterday. The area is only a few feet from the Louth border with south Armagh.
Customs officials notified gardai who have powers under the Copyright Act to examine and seize counterfeit goods.
Among the CDs, videos, DVDs and PlayStation games was the recently released Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? CDROM. The game normally retails at between £40 and £50.
Gardai believe dissident republicans were behind the hold-up of the gardai and the theft from them of the counterfeit goods which took place at 1.45 p.m., almost six hours after they had been seized.
The gang of between six and seven men were dressed in camouflage clothing and balaclavas. One carried a handgun, another a rifle while others had iron bars.
They blocked the road on either side of the van and sheds containing the diesel-laundering plant. A few seconds before they approached and demanded the gardai return the van and its contents to them, two rockets were fired into the air from a hidden location a short distance away.
The gardai did not put up any resistance and the men escaped with goods towards Jonesboro in south Armagh.
Garda sources say they believe that dissident republicans, most likely the "Real IRA", were behind the hold-up and that they hoped to sell the counterfeit products in the run-up to Christmas to raise funds.
The goods were likely going to be sold at open-air markets.
Carrickaneena is near Jonesboro where a popular market takes place on Sunday mornings. Earlier this month the RUC seized a large quantity of counterfeit products on sale there.