CUSTOMS OFFICERS seized  over 150,000 cigarettes and €11,500 in cash after stopping and searching a number of passengers who arrived in Dublin Airport on Saturday from Moldova.

It is understood the passengers involved had flown through Frankfurt.

The seized cigarettes are worth an estimated €66,700, with the potential loss to the Exchequer of €59,500, according to the Revenue Commissioners.

The cash and 24,400 of the cigarettes were found on a 30-year-old Moldovan national, while the rest of the cigarettes were found on eight other passengers. The brands seized include Marlboro, Parliament, Kent, Winston and West.

The money was seized by Customs officers under Section 38 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 as amended by the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2006 and Dublin District Court granted the Revenue a three-month detention order to carry out further investigations.

Customs had seized 200kgs of cigarette tobacco in a separate operation on Friday. The cigarettes were discovered in cargo from China which arrived at the airport on Friday. One person was questioned and released.

So far this year, the Revenue’s Customs Service at Dublin Airport have seized 16.5 million cigarettes and €308,000 in cash.