Pair face smuggling charges

The cigarettes were found in warehouses

Two men from Northern Ireland have been charged in connection with a seizure of more than two million smuggled cigarettes in County Monaghan.

The two accused - Barry McDonald, 38, of Captain's Road, Forkhill, County Armagh and John O'Hanlon, 31, of Mountain Road, Drumintee, County Armagh, faced four excise charges at Dundalk District Court on Thursday.

The charges faced were that 2.5 million cigarettes were kept for sale or delivery with no tax stamps affixed; that they were concerned in the evasion of excise duty; that they attempted to evade duty on the cigarettes and that they dealt in excisable product with intent to defraud.

The pair were arrested by Gardaí on Tuesday night, following the find at a warehouse in Iniskeen.

They were released on Thursday afternoon but were then rearrested by customs officers.

A third man is still being questioned by Gardaí.

They were remanded in custody with consent to bail, to appear again in Drogheda District Court on Friday.