The find is the
second major seizure of smuggled cigarettes on the same ferry route in the
last fourteen days, say customs' officials.
A Customs and Excise spokesman said the find might have taken the gloss
off the ferry's celebrations. "But these discoveries are made all the
time.
"It is extremely unlikely that whoever was behind the smuggling
attempt knew that the lorry would be on a super ferry surrounded by all
this publicity."
The £90m ‘Pride of Rotterdam’ ship weighing 60,000 tonnes was
baptised in the Netherlands last week by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
It can carry more than 1,300 passengers and 250 cars and lorries.
It is expected to cut journey times across the North Sea by
two-and-a-half-hours.
