Over 30 kilos of illicit tobacco has been seized from a second-hand book shop in Belfast during a raid by Revenue & Customs.
In an operation targeting illegal tobacco sales they searched the city centre shop and uncovered the tobacco which would have evaded an estimated £4,000 in duty.
There were no arrests but investigations were continuing, said HM Revenue & Customs.
Senior specialist investigations officer Brian Dixon said: "Those selling illicit tobacco products are stealing around £3bn from the UK Exchequer each year.
"This illegal activity has a devastating impact on honest retailers forced to compete with illegal unregulated sales."
The under-the-counter sellers sell the illicit tobacco for around half the price of legitimate retailers.
Mr Dixon added: "HMRC continues to work with the police and other law enforcement agencies to protect the public from the significant and damaging effect smuggled and counterfeit tobacco products have on our communities."
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