Fuel-smuggling rises in North

SOARING fuel prices are driving the illegal trade in diesel in the North, making it Britain’s leading region for the trafficking.

“The increased cost in the price of fuel combined with the sterling’s depreciation against the euro has made laundering more attractive,” said John Whiting, head of Customs and Revenue for the North. “The downturn in the economy is no doubt a factor.”

Customs and Revenue estimate the illicit trade costs the British exchequer in the region of £800 million (€915m) a year, with the North — which has less than 5% of Britain’s population — accounting for £160 million of that cost, according to the figures obtained by Bloomberg News from customs.