Man detained in customs sting in Louth

Dundalk Circuit Court heard how a Lithuanian national was detained in a customs sting, after a Revenue officer responded to a Facebook ad for cigarettes.

The details were revealed at the sentencing hearing of 44 year old Andriejus Loginovas formerly with an address at Station House, Chancery Lane, Tullamore, Co. Offaly who pleaded guilty to attempting to evade excise duty on 60,000 cigarettes, at the M1 Retail Park, Drogheda on March 18th 2023, where the seized goods had an estimated value of €47,400.

The Revenue investigation began after an ad was posted on Facebook offering cigarettes for sale.

On Messenger, a customs officer arranged to buy six boxes with 10,000 cigarettes in each for €9,000 and delivery was arranged to the Lidl car park in the M1 Retail Park and a male caller rang to say he would be driving a silver Vauxhall Astra.

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It arrived at 11.30am and drove up beside the van where the Revenue officials were waiting and the defendant opened the boot, and showed him two large boxes of the Minsk brand of cigarettes which did not bear Irish tax stamps.

He told them he wasn’t the owner and had been asked to deliver them.

Judge Dara Hayes who heard the total potential loss to the exchequer in terms of excise and VAT was €37,110.

The Defence barrister stressed his client had answered all questions put to him, and he was afraid to say who had asked him to make the delivery.

He lost his job as a mechanic outside Tullamore during the pandemic and his marriage broke down in the weeks before the offence.

He is now living with his mum in Lithuania and had returned to meet the case, having entered a signed guilty plea at Ardee District Court last month.

Judge Hayes, who said it was a lapse in an otherwise reasonably well-behaved individual, imposed a 15 month suspended sentence and directed that €2,500 be paid to the Louth Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals within four months.

The judge also made a forfeiture order for the cigarettes and the van that were seized.