From: The Times (UK)
David Brown
An al-Qaeda group that attacked a ship in the Suez Canal has been credited with exposing a huge cigarette smuggling operation linked to the IRA.
Police and customs officers in the Republic of Ireland have seized nine million cigarettes worth €4.3 million (£3.6 million) destined for sale in Britain and Ireland.
The counterfeit cigarettes, which were made in Vietnam, were being carried on the container ship Cosco Asia, which was hit by rocket-propelled grenades while passing through the Suez Canal on August 31.
A group calling itself the al-Furqan Brigade, which is said to be affiliated to al-Qaeda, claimed credit
