Arab terrorist rocket hits IRA-linked contraband aboard Cosco Asia
A ROCKET fired by Muslim terrorists at the 10,062-TEU Cosco Asia in the Suez Canal in August hit a container full of smuggled cigarettes bound for individuals linked to the Irish Republican Army, reports the Irish Independent newspaper.
The illicit cargo, with an estimated street value of EUR4.3 million (US$5.8 million), was destined for a bogus furniture company in Dundalk, and reportedly run by businessmen with links to the Irish Republican Army, said the report.
The cigarettes are believed to have been acquired in Vietnam and were heading for Rotterdam when the Cosco Asia was hit by two rockets on August 31. Footage of the attack on the Cosco Asia was posted on YouTube by a group calling itself the Al-firqan Brigade, a known affiliate of al-Qaida.
The container was due to be transferred to a feeder vessel bound for Dublin. A tracking device was placed on the container at the Port of Rotterdam and tracked by satellite through Dublin Port and on to a village near Dundalk. Four men were arrested for suspected tax evasion, but released without charge.
Irish police and customs seized 58 million smuggled cigarettes in the first six months of 2013.
A ROCKET fired by Muslim terrorists at the 10,062-TEU Cosco Asia in the Suez Canal in August hit a container full of smuggled cigarettes bound for individuals linked to the Irish Republican Army, reports the Irish Independent newspaper.
The illicit cargo, with an estimated street value of EUR4.3 million (US$5.8 million), was destined for a bogus furniture company in Dundalk, and reportedly run by businessmen with links to the Irish Republican Army, said the report.
The cigarettes are believed to have been acquired in Vietnam and were heading for Rotterdam when the Cosco Asia was hit by two rockets on August 31. Footage of the attack on the Cosco Asia was posted on YouTube by a group calling itself the Al-firqan Brigade, a known affiliate of al-Qaida.
The container was due to be transferred to a feeder vessel bound for Dublin. A tracking device was placed on the container at the Port of Rotterdam and tracked by satellite through Dublin Port and on to a village near Dundalk. Four men were arrested for suspected tax evasion, but released without charge.
Irish police and customs seized 58 million smuggled cigarettes in the first six months of 2013.