Pills, cannabis and designer clothes seized in massive Revenue searches

Revenue have seized contraband worth almost €516,000 during searches in Dublin and Athlone last week.

Over the course of last week (week commencing 15 July 2024), Revenue officers examining parcels at a premises in Athlone seized over 18.4 kgs of herbal cannabis with an estimated value of €368,200.

The illicit drugs were discovered with the assistance of detector dog Enzo (pictured above) in parcels originating from Spain which were intended for addresses in Dublin and Meath.

Cannabis seized as a result of Revenue searches in Athlone | PICTURE: David McGrath

Various quantities of other illegal drugs, with an estimated combined value of almost €95,000, were also seized as a result of risk profiling, during the examination of parcels at a premises in Dublin.

The illegal drugs were discovered in parcels originating from the the USA, the United Kingdom, India, Canada and Thailand. The parcels were intended for various addresses nationwide.

The various quantities of these illicit drugs, with a combined value of almost €95,000, consisted of: over 2.8 kgs of herbal cannabis, 11g of butane honey oil,  657mls of cannabis oil, 290g of cannabis resin, 796g of cannabis edibles, 516.6g of magic mushrooms, 193g of Mitragynine and 10,391 Alprazalam, Benzodiazepine, Diazepam, Tapentadol, Zolpidem and Zopiclone tablets.

A quantity of retail goods, with an estimated value of approximately over €52,600, was also seized due to infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

Up to 359 items were seized,from the following brands: Adidas, Balmain, Birkenstock, Burberry, Chanel, Chloe, Dior, Givenchy, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Moncler, Montirex, New Balance, Nike, North Face, ON Cloud, Palm Angels, Tommy Hilfiger, Ugg, Under Armour, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.

Investigations into all seizures are ongoing, a statement from a Revenue spokesperson said.

These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295.