Customs officers have seized €64,000 of alcohol and cigarettes in two separate seizures in North Dublin yesterdy.

€53,000 worth of alcohol - including beer, wine and spirits - was seized from an unlicensed trader.

The entire stock included 9,000 litres of alcohol products like beer wine, spirits and liquor, was seized from the unlicensed trader who continued to trade without an appropriate excise license despite having received a warning letter from Revenue. 

An excise licence is required to sell alcohol at retail or wholesale level. One of the conditions for getting a licence  is the applicant must have a current tax clearance certificate confirming that their tax affairs are in order.

Revenue can seize alcohol that is on sale from an unlicensed premises and where there is no tax clearance certificate.

Last year Revenue identified fifty seven cases where alcohol was for sale without an excise license and where the business did not have a current tax clearance certificate.

Following engagement with Revenue many of the cases involved regularised their tax and excise licence issues. Enforcement action followed in five cases and significant quantities of alcohol products were seized from the unlicensed premises using these powers.

Meanwhile, 2 men in their thirties were arrested after €11,000 worth of cigarettes were seized at Dublin Airport.  The haul included 22,000 ‘Marlboro Gold’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Winston’ cigarettes.

The cigarettes seized represent a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €9,500.

The Romanian and Portuguese nationals - who had travelled from Moldova - have been remanded in custody to appear before Cloverhill Court next Tuesday.

If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.