Irish customs seize 120 million fake cigarettes: EU
(BRUSSELS) - Irish authorities have seized more than 120 million counterfeit cigarettes, the European Union's anti-fraud office said on Wednesday.
Worth a potential 40 million euros (60 million dollars), the load was shipped from the Philippines to Greenore Port, County Louth, having been declared as animal foodstuffs.
The anti-fraud office said in a statement that the haul is "thought to be the largest single seizure ever made in the EU."
"This is a major achievement in the fight against cigarette smuggling in the EU which clearly demonstrates the importance, and benefits, of close, international co-operation," said OLAF Director-General Franz-Hermann Bruener.
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