Caught selling Polish cigarettes in Dublin

Some_randomer

Hi all, hope this is the right place for such a thread. I have a friend from Poland that's been living here several years. Recently a relative of theirs was visiting and brought over Polish cigarettes. My friend decided to sell the cigarettes, I think it was 5 cartons in total, so they posted an ad online, got a reply, and arranged to meet a person that wanted to buy the cigarettes. They were a genuine Polish brand and not counterfeit.

It turns out the person they arranged to meet was the customs so my friend got busted. Their car got taken from them and they were told they would have to pay to get it back, as well as deal with the consequences of selling the cigarettes.

For what it's worth my friend has a Polish partner and young child and I've known them to be decent and hard working people, and definitely not involved in any cigarette smuggling or anything like that. They've asked me for advice and what's likely to happen but I don't know much about this sort of thing, so I'd like like to know:

- how serious is the offence and what's likely to happen for selling the cigarettes i.e. will they be taken to court, fined, or even jailed?
- how much might they have to pay to get their car back?

If anyone has any insights into this I'd appreciate a reply.

Pro Hoc Vice

Really just tell your friend to go to a good solicitor.

CiniO

I wonder what could be the grounds for taking his car?

Peppa Pig

Seeing as you are allowed to bring 800 cigarettes into Ireland there is hardly a great deal going to happen, unless the customs find he has thousands more. Especially if the tax was paid in Poland

What may cost him more is this

Some_randomer wrote: »

Their car got taken from them and they were told they would have to pay to get it back,

I don't think the customs seize cars for flogging 1000 cigarettes, so is it a Polish registered car?
He'll need to pay the vrt and a fine, if it is.

I have to say, I find it very strange that someone would advertise Polish cigarettes online. It's either asking for trouble or a lot more than 1000 cigarettes.

ForstalDave

Most likely a fine(size depends on the amount) for the Cigs and VRT has to be paid on the car, first offence would usually not lead to anything other than that

hroosky

If you can prove you owned the car for 1 year while you lived in Poland, then you don't need to pay VRT. However you can only drive it in Ireland for a 12 month period after which you need to take it out of the country (for a period of time) or have it registered here as an Irish car. I went through the process about 12 months ago and had my car registered here.

hullaballoo

Moderator: as per the forum charter, legal advice cannot be sought or given on this forum or website.

If you (or your friends) require legal advice, the best course of action is to engage the services of a legal professional.