Pallets full of popular brands were siezed

The alcohol seized by Revenue(Image: Revenue )

Revenue Customs Officers have seized just over 43,113 pints of illegally imported beer during a targeted operation at the port in Rosslare earlier this morning.

The trailer full of booze arrived on a ferry from Dunkirk, France, early on Thursday morning, and as it passed through customs, the pallets of cans were flagged by Revenue officers. The trailer contained 24,500 litres of beer from the brands Desperados, Carlsberg, Budweiser, Oranjeboom, Holsten, Debowe, Karpackie, Kestrel, Lech, Perla, San Miguel, Skol, Stella, and Tyskie, as well as Zubr.

The trailer was profiled as part of a routine screening process that aims to identify alcohol products entering the market without paying the required taxes. After the trailer was flagged, officers launched an investigation and seized both the trailer and the alcohol.

The smuggled alcohol has a retail value of around €97,500, and had it been sold, it would have represented a loss to the exchequer of around €45,700. Revenue confirmed that investigations into the matter are ongoing.

A Revenue spokesperson said: “On 25/02/2026, Revenue officers at Rosslare Europort seized approximately 24,500 litres of beer. The beer, branded Desperados, Carlsberg, Budweiser, Oranjeboom, Holsten Pills, Debowe, Karpackie, Kestrel, Lech, Perla, San Miguel, Skol, Stella, Tyskie and Zubr, has a retail value of over €97,500, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of more than €45,700.

“The consignment was seized following routine profiling aimed at identifying alcohol products that may be diverted onto the market without payment of the tax due. The alcohol arrived in an accompanied trailer that had disembarked a ferry from Dunkirk, France. Following an investigation, both the trailer and the alcohol products were seized. Investigations are ongoing.”

Revenue continues to target smuggling operations and ‘shadow economy’ activity across the country, and the public has been urged to contact them with any information. Those who wish to come forward can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295.

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