THREE MEN HAVE been arrested after thousands of cigarettes were discovered inside mannequins.
The discovery was made during a search of a commercial premises in Cork city by gardaí and Revenue officials using sniffer dog Harvey.
As many as 42,000 unstamped NZ Slim cigarettes were found in the mannequins.
And during a second search in the small town of Skibbereen, Revenue seized a further 403,000 NZ Slim and Septs cigarettes.
It is understood cigarettes were originally detected in a parcel at a postal depot, and gardaí and Revenue officials allowed them to be delivered in order to carry out further searches.
A UK-registered van was also seized at this location.
One official said the size of the seizure was unexpected.
Three men, two from Poland and one from Lithuania, have been interviewed and files prepared following the seizures.
The total value of the cigarettes seized in both searchers is an estimated €222,500, which represents a loss to the Exchequer of €175,000.
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