Customs Officer says cigarettes and cash seized in Portlaoise

A customs officer was granted an application for a further detention order to extend the time cash and cigarettes seized in Portlaoise could be held.

Customs and Excise made the application against Thomas Brown with an address, care of Midland Legal Solicitors, in relation to a sum of €24, 895 in cash seized from Browns, 1 Dublin Road, Portlaoise on May 7, 2025. 

The Customs Officer told a sitting of Portlaoise District Court that he was seeking the order to retain the cash for a further three months. He said the cash was seized during the search  of a premises on May 7 last. 

The officer said that prior to the search officers had carried out a test purchase and bought a packet of cigarettes for €6. He told Judge Andrew Cody that 17,000  unstamped cigarettes were also discovered during the search. 

The officer said there were admissions under caution that five or six blocks of unstamped cigarettes were being sold daily at the premises for around three or four years. He said this would equate to between 7,000 and 8,000 cigarettes a week. 

Judge Andrew Cody said he was satisfied to make the order granting the further detention.