REVENUE OFFICERS LAST week discovered and seized machinery and materials associated with manufacturing cigarettes following a search of a premises in the Dublin 3 area.

Revenue officers seized 240kgs of processed tobacco and around 60,000 cigarettes which were concealed in wooden crates.

The tobacco and cigarettes have a combined retail value of €174,000, which Revenue said represented a potential loss to the Exchequer of €153,168.

Elsewhere, they seized 800,000 cigarettes on Monday when a container which arrived into Dublin Port from Rotterdam was x-rayed using Revenue’s mobile scanner.

The smuggled cigarettes branded Pect have a retail value of almost €460,000, which could have cost the Exchequer €368,000

A Revenue spokesperson said: “These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the importation, supply and sale of illegal tobacco products in the shadow economy.

“If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295.”