Barrage of contraband may have funded terrorism

IRELAND - Two Baltic ships visiting Ireland, one Latvian and one Estonian, were the targets of a swoop by security services here on Nov. 7 and 8 that netted over $15 million worth of smuggled cigarettes and alcohol.

Security sources in Ireland and the U.K. are convinced that the contraband was intended to fund a renewed campaign of terrorist attacks against the British mainland by the dissident terrorist group the Real IRA (Irish Republican Army).

Around 20 million cigarettes, with an estimated street value of $4.5 million, were seized by Garda (Irish police) and customs on an Estonian vessel carrying timber from Muuga, near Tallinn, after it docked in Dundalk Harbor, County Louth, in the Irish republic. The ship is believed to be registered in Cambodia. The crew members, thought to be ethnic Russians, were questioned. But there were no reports of any arrests, and an Irish customs spokesman told The Baltic Times that the captain and crew may have been used as unwitting agents in this affair.

"No one has been arrested yet. The crew may well have been absolutely unaware of what was going on. That is often the case with these things," he said.

Just a day later, across the border in Warren-point, Northern Ireland, the Cyprus-registered ship the Sylve, which had sailed from Riga, was raided by British customs and excise supported by the police and army.

At least 40 million cigarettes and a "significant quantity of vodka" were removed.

During the search, the Sylve was guarded by heavily armed members of the British army's Royal Marines, who also patrolled the area in inflatable boats.

A Northern Ireland customs spokesman told reporters, "We have lifted dozens of boxes from the (Cypriot) vessel, and every one has contained contraband. We still have hundreds more to open. This is a major success, the biggest ever find in Northern Ireland and a major blow to organized crime."

The crew, listed as four Russians and two "aliens" were questioned and then released. Asked if the vessel was thought to have come directly from Riga or from another country via Latvia, a British customs and excise spokesman said, "The port of origin, as far as we are concerned, is Riga."

The seizures are the climax of a major surveillance operation conducted over the past few months against Irish terrorists attempting to buy guns and explosives in Eastern Europe. A security source said, "Weapons are easily available for hard cash - especially in the former Soviet Union."