Customs officers have seized almost 10 million black market cigarettes in the last week.
The Revenue said a string of raids were carried out on the back of intelligence with the latest including the discovery of 7,800 cigarettes and 3.5 kilos of tobacco in three houses in Dublin’s inner city.
Those searches were part of an ongoing operation to target the illegal selling of cigarettes on Moore Street.
The single biggest find came on Wednesday evening when 6.6 million cigarettes were found in a warehouse in Co Meath.
A container holding the Royale Pacific brand had come into Dublin Port via Rotterdam from Vietnam on Monday and were described as “shower room linen baskets” on the ship’s manifest.
Also on Wednesday, a search warrant on a house in Cashel, Co Tipperary, led to the seizure of more than 39,000 MG brand cigarettes and the arrest of a man in his 40s.
Elsewhere, a week ago 2.9 million Jim brand cigarettes, which originated in Vietnam, were seized at Dublin Port.
The Revenue said investigations are ongoing in all cases and the total value of contraband tobacco and cigarettes was five million euro.
