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 | | Monday, 25 March, 2002, 19:17 GMT Major seizure of smuggled cigarettes  Customs have had successes against cigarette smugglers Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy has congratulated the Customs and Excise office following the seizure of 15 million cigarettes at Belfast docks. Customs said the cigarettes were found in two consignments of ceramic pots which arrived in the port from Antwerp in Belgium at the weekend. It is believed the cigarettes would have been sold on the black market in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Ms Kennedy, who is the head of the province's Organised Crime Taskforce, said haul had the potential to evade duty of around �2.5m.
The minister said people must be aware of the effect on the local economy when they bypassed legitimate traders and purchased "substandard products from these criminals". She added: "When you buy cheap cigarettes you are not only dodging the duty which goes towards the financing of our hospitals, schools and other essential services, but you are also putting at risk the jobs of those who work in legitimate businesses." It was the latest in a series of Customs successes against cigarettes smugglers. Last week 3,000,000 cigarettes were seized at Larne Port. A Customs spokesman said: "Last week it was duty free cigarettes in a consignment of Bulgarian matches. This week it's clay pots. "These latest seizures highlight our ability to detect these illegal consignments, however the smugglers try to disguise them." | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Northern Ireland stories now:  Links to more Northern Ireland stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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