A Latvia-based smuggling gang is behind the approximately 1.4 million cigarettes seized at Dublin Airport since St. Patrick’s Day, says Irish Revenue’s Customs Service.

The cigarettes, seized from flights arriving from Rīga, have a value of EUR 483,000 and represent a potential loss in tax revenue of EUR 378,000, the government agency said in a March 21 press release.

Customs officers seized Marlboro, L & M, Chesterfields and other lesser-known brands of cigarettes, as well as two motor vehicles used in transporting the smuggled smokes. The cigarettes were headed for the black market, the agency said.

Since January, the agency added, about 7.5 million cigarettes valued at EUR 2.7 million have been seized at Dublin Airport.