Customs officials in the Republic have seized up to six million smuggled cigarettes in the third multi-million euro tobacco haul in a week.
The 25 pallets of Regal cigarettes arrived in Dublin Port last Monday labelled as hair extensions.
Officers tailed the €2.2m consignment for seven days before stopping it at a checkpoint at the M1 Dundalk South turn-off on Monday night.
The cigarettes, which arrived in a 45ft container from Barcelona, are thought to have been bound for Northern Ireland and other areas across the UK.
An Irish man detained at the scene was later released and is said to be helping customs with their investigations.
"We are still making enquiries. But based on the fact that the container was heading towards the border and the brand is more common in Northern Ireland and the UK, we believe it was destined for the UK market," Dublin Port customs official Ciaran Moulton said.
Last Tuesday a massive eight tonnes of tobacco leaf ready to be rolled into 12 million cigarettes was discovered after customs tailed a lorry from the port to a warehouse in Monaghan.
Three days later a container carrying 5.5 million cigarettes was seized at Dublin Port after arriving on a shipment from Vietnam.
© Press Association