A man has been arrested after attempting to smuggle a live Chihuahua through customs in his hand luggage.

The dog was first spotted on an X-ray machine at Dublin Airport after the flight arrived from Madrid.

A statement on the Revenue website read: "Officers of Revenue's customs service at Dublin Airport this afternoon discovered a Chihuahua-type toy dog which had been placed in a small cage and hidden in a holdall bag.

"The dog which had been smuggled from Bulgaria to Madrid in Spain and then on to Dublin was carried on board the aircraft by the male passenger."

It continued: "When customs officers examined the luggage, the image of a dog in a small cage appeared on the X-ray screen.

"The dog has been handed over to officials from the Department Of Agriculture And Food and is currently in quarantine."