Smuggled cigarettes were hidden in wooden boxes

Dundalk-based garda superintendent Michael Staunton said there was "probably" a link between the two finds.

He said both ships were at sea at the same time, they were carrying the same cargo and heading to similar destinations.

Thursday's find was made after officials stopped the Cyprus-registered cargo vessel Sylvia in Warrenpoint docks.

It was en route from Riga in Latvia, but the final destination was unclear.

However the cargo was destined either for mainland Britain, Northern Ireland or the Irish Republic, according to a customs official.

We will not cease our campaign to flush these people out

Jane Kennedy

Customs and Excise spokesman Phil Rodgers said there were millions of cigarettes on board, hidden in wooden boxes.

He said: "The markets for illegal cigarettes could be in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland and could be on mainland Britain.

"There is a huge amount of cigarettes here, which would hit the illegal market, and obviously this illegal market is something we are trying to tackle at source because it is unfair.

"It attacks the livelihood of honest traders; it has links with organized crime and in particular it makes cigarettes cheaper and more accessible to vulnerable people, like children."

Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy, who heads the Organised Crime Taskforce in the province, said the seizure was "another significant strike against organised crime".

"This is the latest in a series of recent finds and I look forward to further successes in the near future. We will not cease our campaign to flush these people out."