Revenue Seizes €369,000 Worth of Contraband Across Dublin, Midlands and Rosslare

Revenue officers have seized contraband worth over €369,000 in a series of operations across Dublin, the Midlands and Rosslare Europort during the week commencing 11 August 2025, targeting everything from illicit drugs to counterfeit designer goods.

The seizures, which resulted from risk profiling and intelligence-led operations, uncovered a vast array of illegal items including over 6kg of herbal cannabis, magic mushrooms, and more than 26,500 litres of alcohol representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €50,200.

Among the drug seizures were 6.16kg of herbal cannabis valued at over €153,600, more than 1kg of magic mushrooms worth €20,600, and over 600g of butane honey oil valued at €12,100. Additional seizures included edibles worth €3,300 and various other illicit drugs valued at almost €2,500.

A significant alcohol seizure took place at Rosslare Europort on 31 July 2025, where approximately 26,337 litres of beer was intercepted. The consignment, containing brands including Carlsberg, San Miguel, Stella and various Polish beers, had a retail value of over €105,019 and represented a potential exchequer loss of more than €49,184.

The beer arrived in an accompanied trailer that had disembarked from a ferry from France. Following routine profiling aimed at identifying alcohol products that may be diverted onto the market without proper tax payment, both the trailer and its contents were seized.

Detector dogs Sam, Ciara and Enzo played a crucial role in the drug detection operations. The seized parcels originated from the USA, Czechia, Belgium, Thailand, Spain, the UK and Canada, and were destined for various addresses across Ireland.

Revenue officers also seized tobacco products valued at over €7,100, including Marlboro, Chesterfield, Parliament and Sobranie cigarettes, representing a potential exchequer loss of over €5,600. Additionally, 66 vapes worth €1,200 were confiscated.

The operations uncovered 237 counterfeit items valued at over €61,700, featuring fake versions of luxury brands including Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as popular sportswear brands like Nike, Adidas and New Balance. The counterfeit goods were confirmed by rights holders to have infringed on intellectual property rights.

Officers also seized over eight weapons and related items, including accessory magazines, smoke bombs and a smoke flare, during the operations.

The various illicit drugs seized included cannabis oil, MDMA, ketamine, and tablets containing Benzodiazepine, Diazepam, Zolpidem and Amphetamine, as well as HHC vapes.

All investigations into the seizures remain ongoing as part of Revenue's continued efforts to combat smuggling and shadow economy activity across Ireland.

Members of the public or businesses with information regarding smuggling activities can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295.