Four million cigarettes have been seized by customs officers at Harwich International Port.
The haul was found in 200 boxes of peppers from Greece and were seized following a routine investigation after the HSS Stena Discovery docked at the port on Wednesday morning from Holland.
Two lorry drivers were arrested. They were released without charge.
The revenue evaded on the importation of the cigarettes is about £400,000.
A customs spokesman said that almost 50 million cigarettes has been seized so far this year compared to 38 million for the whole of 1998.
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