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A GROUP REPRESENTING businesses against illegal smuggling has argued that a recent spike in loose tobacco seizures by authorities suggests there are “large-scale” illegal cigarette factories operating in Ireland.
Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) warned today that 13.5 tonnes of loose raw tobacco seized by Revenue so far this year suggests that there are large-scale illegal cigarette factories operating in Ireland.
To date, Revenue has announced four major seizures of loose raw tobacco with a combined estimated retail value of €8.1 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €6.7 million.
RAS national spokesperson Benny Gilsenan said: “The significant volume of the consignments being seized, and the elaborate means being used to conceal this raw tobacco suggests that it’s unlikely the product is intended for direct resale to the consumer on the black market.”
He said that a “recent spike” in these types of seizures has risen suspicion among retailers that the intended destination is likely to be illegal cigarette making factories operated by criminal gangs in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
The RAS pointed out that when Gardaí and Revenue officials uncovered Ireland’s first illegal commercial-scale cigarette production plant in Jenkinstown Co Louth in 2018, it was capable of producing up to 250,000 cigarettes per hour.
During that raid up to 66 tonnes of raw tobacco were seized which Gilsenan said gives a sense of the volume of tobacco product required to run such an operation.
Gilsenan added:
The fear among retailers is that the volumes of raw tobacco now being seized at Irish ports are at a level which indicates that similar underground facilities are operational on the island of Ireland.
“For example, we know that roughly 13-15 million cigarettes could be produced from the 13.5 tonnes of raw tobacco seized alone, and we suspect further large volumes are getting into the country undetected.”
Since the Jenkinstown raid, several other illegal factories have been uncovered primarily around the border regions, which suggests a link to illegal cross-border trade and criminal activity, the RAS spokesperson added.
“The most recent seizure of an illegal factory on the island was in Armagh in July this year, which could produce 390 million cigarettes a year.
“While we fully commend and support the work of Revenue and An Garda Síochána as well as their counterparts in Northern Ireland in detecting smuggled tobacco and cigarettes, we believe more can be done by policymakers to tackle the growing illegal trade in tobacco products in Ireland.”
In its pre-Budget 2022 submission to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, RAS argued that continuous excise increases on tobacco are fuelling demand for a growing black market, urging against an increase in October’s announcement.
“We are also very concerned by the additional spate of illicit cigarette and roll-your-own tobacco seizures by Revenue so far this year. To date over 35 million cigarettes and over 20 tonnes of roll-your-own tobacco have been seized highlighting just how active the black market currently is.”
“The continued growth of the black market can only be halted by stopping the continuous excise increases on tobacco products, the retail price of which is 121% above the EU average according to a new Eurostat survey issued today,” Gilsenan argued.
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Wow… who’d have thought charging c.400% tax on a product would incentivise a black economy in that product?
It was always going to happen with the continued increases in tax. Tax needs to be reduced but that wont happen so this will just get worse. Average levy on cigarettes in EU is 3.50. We charged 8 per box of 20. That’s just mental.
@John Duggan: The tax is because of health issues. If you didn’t know smoking is bad and ends up costing the state who have to provide public health care ..
@Alan Kenny: all in taxes and levies are more than €11 on an average €14 box of cigarettes. It’s not just mental, it’s egregious.
@Gavin Lynam: Do you have some figures on what smokers cost the health system, versus what they generate in taxes?
@Gavin Lynam: Obesity causes issues too, so maybe a 400% tax on all take away foods and restaurants then ? Like the way the sugar tax fixed so much.
@Gavin Lynam: i am pretty sure that you believe in fairies and dragons as well.
@Da Dell: And a tax on frozen food/pizzas in supermarkets and any product that contains any trace of unhealthiness. Also put a health levy on driving cause people are too lazy to walk which is costing the taxpayer in health costs.
So much for personal responsibility and personal freedom. These taxes do very little to improve peoples’ health. Irish people constantly think in terms of how much money they could generate but aren’t thinking about the education aspect. Education is the key to everything but we aren’t too fond of that here, clinging on to our traditional leaving cert and not teaching many real world skills or education.
@JusticeForJoe: Money isn’t the issue
@Larsen Cib: Still haven’t grown out of your superhero faze I see ..
@JusticeForJoe: smokers cost the state around 300 million more than they contribute in taxes every year.
@Alan Kenny: an the same will happen with wine an beer ,.
@Fakë Ăvatăř: do you have a source for that?
@Ian Kerrigan.: I compiled the data as part of a project about two years ago, the figure ranges between 3 to 4 hundred million a year going from 2010 to 2018, long and short of it is smoking is a drain on economy.
@Fakë Ăvatăř: utter b0ll0x
@Fakë Ăvatăř: that’s interesting because it’s been reported that smokers give over 30 million beyond what they cost the exchequer. So unless you can provide evidence I’m not going to believe you over economists on the matt Cooper show.
@Fakë Ăvatăř: During that period smokers contributed on average 1,200M each year in combined excise duties and tax. In other words, they paid for all of their own health costs and gave a further €800M for the health of others.
(Figures supplies by the Revenue Commissioners).
Nobody should be suprised… Tax anything that much and its basically an open invite to criminals in the black market…There is other ways but the tories we have in charge aren’t capable of thinking outside the box
Legalise and regulate. If it was legal there’d be none of these criminal enterprises. Oh wait…
@Mattress Dick: Unfortunately the biggest gangsters in the country are the ones regulating this industry, the main crime here is the tax is circa 80% of the purchase price.
@Mattress Dick: Yes you right, better to leave as is, as its easy to get and cheap plus added bonus of having access to nearly all ‘drugs’ from same source. If the Gov got involved they would just make a balls of it.
@Mark Malone: pretty much this.
@Mattress Dick: there you are again. Great support for the cause of legalisation. Dick says legal is better.
Pretending that the tax is for the health system is a joke. Today’s children are much better educated about the dangers and yet during the pandemic there has been an increase of young people smoking
@Ian James Burgess: unfortunately naive , not far thinking people do believe in these fairy tales.
The profits from tobacco smuggling are on par with those from drugs, but the penalties for getting caught are a laugh. Basically a smack on the back of the hand.
Why don’t they follow these drug finds back to make mass arrests. Seizing stuff at the ports is lazy and unimaginative.
They haven’t gone away, you know.
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