Mr. Joe Sweeney:

Most of the counterfeit cigarettes are coming from the Far East. For instance, we have discovered there are illegal factories in China, which are built underground. They are rat-infested and we have seen secretly filmed pictures of them. There is no standard of hygiene, safety or anything similar. My shop is in Deputy Finian McGrath's constituency and one particular cigarette brand in that district, which is the biggest selling cigarette brand in Dublin, is being specially manufactured for delivery to Ireland for that market. Other routes come from Eastern Europe and alongside counterfeit cigarettes, there also are what we call "illicit whites". Such cigarettes are properly manufactured in a legitimate factory but are taken through routes via countries in Africa and so on, in which low tax regimes are in operation, and are then brought into this country and distributed. Many of the brands in this category would not be familiar to people here.