Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2009-10-27
Intro: A massive cigarette-smuggling operation by a cross-border criminal gang has been smashed.
In what was described as the biggest seizure in the UK and Ireland, more than 120 million cigarettes were seized on a ship at Greenore, County Louth.
About 150 law enforcement officers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were involved in the operation.
Two men from County Armagh were among nine people arrested in County Louth. The cigarettes are worth 50m euros.
The ship had left the Philippines on 15 September carrying a cargo declared as animal feed. . . .
HM Revenue and Customs spokesman John Whiting said the operation targeted a suspected organised crime group operating on both sides of the Irish border
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