Revenue officers seized contraband with an overall estimated value of over €2.5m. Pic: @RevenueIE
More than 9,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike runners – with an estimated value of €1.6m – were seized by officers at Dublin Port this week.
Revenue officers also seized other contraband, including herbal cannabis, cocaine, various illicit drugs and alcohol, in various operations throughout Dublin, the Midlands, Rosslare and Shannon.
The overall estimated value of the seizures was €2.5m.
The counterfeit Nike-branded runners consisted of 9,156 pairs in 35 different designs. The seizure was made as a result of risk profiling when Revenue officers stopped and searched a freight shipment from China.
The herbal cannabis, together with 1kg of cocaine and the various other illicit drugs, were seized with the assistance of detector dogs Sam, Grace and Ciara examining parcels at premises in Dublin, the Midlands and Shannon.
Revenue officers seized contraband with an overall estimated value of over €2.5m. Pic: @RevenueIE
The drugs were detected inside parcels which had originated in the US, the UK, Canada, Thailand, Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands, and were destined for addresses nationwide.
The remaining 1.3kg of cocaine, with an estimated value of €92,400, was seized as a result of an intelligence-led operation, when Revenue officers stopped and searched a passenger who arrived into Dublin Airport from France.
A man in his 30s was arrested by An Garda Síochána as a result of this operation and has since appeared before the courts.
1,320 litres of alcohol were also seized, with an estimated retail value of €15,640, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €8,414.
Investigations into all seizures are ongoing.
