Almost 50,000 illegal cigarettes seized locally last year

Almost 50,000 illegal cigarettes were seized in the Shannonside region last year

New figures from the Revenue Commissioners show the largest seizure was made in Roscommon, where over 41,000 cigarettes were seized last year

Over 5,000 items of illegal contraband were seized in County Longford, - but no seizures were made in Leitrim.

Over 736,000 cigarettes were seized in County Westmeath last year - with the majority made at the postal depot in Athlone.

Nearly 61 million illegal cigarettes were seized by Revenue last year - an increase of over a quarter on 2020.

According to freedom of information figures, last year's cigarettes were worth nearly 44 million euro.

48 million were recovered in 2020, and they were valued at almost 33 million euro.