Revenue Seize Contraband Including Cannabis, Magic Mushrooms, And MDMA

Wednesday, 19 March 2025 11:00

Over 16 kilos of cannabis has been discovered in various packages.

Revenue officers have seized contraband with an estimated value of over €440,000 in various operations in the midlands, Dublin, Kilkenny, Shannon Airport and Rosslare Europort over the course of the last week.

The detections were made as a result of risk profiling and intelligence led operations, and included the following: over 16.5kg of herbal cannabis, with an estimated value of approximately €331,200, various illicit drugs, with an estimated value of over €18,250, 23,200 cigarettes and 4.5kg of tobacco with a retail value of almost €23,500 and an estimated loss to the Exchequer of over €19,500, and 183 counterfeit items, with an estimated value of over €68,000.

The herbal cannabis and other illicit drugs were discovered, with the assistance of detector dogs Sam, Ciara and Jasper, during operations in Dublin, Rosslare Europort and Shannon Airport.

The contraband originated from the UK, the USA, Mexico, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Canada, and was destined for addresses nationwide.

The counterfeit goods were seized as they were confirmed by the Rights Holder to have infringed on Intellectual Property Rights.

In addition to the above, over 76 litres of alcohol, with a retail value of over €960 and representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of over €650, were seized in the Midlands and Rosslare Europort.

Numerous weapons were also seized in Dublin and the Midlands. Investigations into all seizures are ongoing. 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.

The various illicit drugs included alprazolam, diazepam, zolpidem and zopiclone tablets, cannabis oil, cannabis resin, edibles, ecstasy, ketamine, magic mushrooms, MDMA, psychoactive cartridges, nitrous oxide, synthetic cannabinoids, vape liquid, kratom powder, moonrock butane oil, synthetic cannabinoids and gamma butyrolactone.

The counterfeit good consisted of goods branded Adidas, Asics, Burberry, Cartier, Chloe, Dior, Emporio Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hilfiger Moncler, Nike, New Balance, The North Face, Stussy, Ugg, Under Armour, Superdry, Crocs, new balance, Apple, Nike, and Fendace.

The seized alcohol consisted of 8.6 litres of spirits, 42.5 litres of wine, 20 litres of beer and 5.5 litres of identified alcohol.

The cigarettes and tobacco seized were of various brands, and the weapons seized included a stun gun, pepper spray, spring loaded knife, blank cartridges, flares and smoke bombs. No further information is available as investigations are ongoing.