Prevention, Detection, Interception and Seizure of Drugs

During 2018, we made over 7,000 seizures amounting to 1,988kgs of drugs with an estimated value of almost €33.50 million (Table 18).

Illegal/Counterfeit Alcohol

As a result of increased cooperation and intelligence sharing between Revenue and other EU Member States, in relation to the movement of product between bonded warehouses within the EU, we saw an increase in the number of larger seizures of illicit alcohol at the main ports in 2018. A total of 252,105 litres of alcohol with an estimated value of €1.5 million was seized during 2018. This represents an increase of 165% in the quantity of illicit alcohol seized when compared to 2017.

Tobacco products

In 2018, our targeted actions led to the seizure of over 67 million illicit cigarettes and 1.9kgs of smoking tobacco, with a combined value of over €42 million. 2018 also saw the detection and closure of the first ever illegal cigarette factory in the State. Further details of this operation can be found on page 42.