Drugs, designer clothes and a 15.5 inch blade seized by authorities in nationwide probes

In a busy week for Revenue officers, the Government agency seized stashes of drugs, alcohol, designer clothing and watches and even weaponry in nationwide searches over the course of the last week.

From Monday 14th, Revenue officers and sniffer dogs made a series of discoveries in operations across Dublin, the Midlands and Rosslare.

10kgs of herbal cannabis was discovered among the searches this week, with an estimated value of over €201,000. Various quantities of other illicit drugs were also discovered in other searches, with a total estimated value of €5,000.

The illegal drugs were discovered, with the assistance of detector dogs Enzo and Sam, in parcels that originated in the USA, the UK, Spain, France, Canada, Thailand and India, and were intended for addresses nationwide.

As well as illicit drugs, 625 litres of wine, 20 litres of beer, 3 litres of spirits and 100 litres of other alcohol with an estimated value of €9,050 were discovered in Revenue searches, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost €5,000.

A 15.5 inch knife was also found in the searches.

Revenue officers also seized a sizeable quantity of retail goods, with an estimated value of €112,000, due to infringements of Intellectual Property Rights. 

The retail goods consisted of 286 items, and included brands such as Adidas, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Nike, The North Face, Canada Goose and more.

These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity.

In a statement, Revenue officers said: "If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295".

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