Irish Revenue Commissioners have admitted that criminal gangs from the Baltic states are operating a highly organised cigarette smuggling operation, which is responsible for the massive jump in the number of cigarette seizures made in 2005: compared to the 4198 seizures made at airports and ports in 2004, there were 13,397 seizures in 2005, which is an increase of 220%.
The Customs Service stated: “The cigarettes are being imported by organised gangs from the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and probably Poland, but particularly Lithuania and Latvia.”.
A total of 7.7 m. cigarettes were seized at Dublin Airport between January and April 2006.
This smuggling racket is highly lucrative given the fact that the retail price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is € 0.94 in Latvia and € 1.30 in Lithuania, compared to € 6.35 in the Irish Republic.
Source:
Irish Examiner,
9 June 2006.
Transmitted by the European Network for Smoking Prevention. |
