Fuel laundering prosecutions surge

A CRACKDOWN on filling stations and distributors selling laundered diesel has led to a dramatic increase in the numbers being caught and prosecuted.

In the first six months of this year, 16 garage owners across the country were caught selling laundered diesel, much of it smuggled in from over the Border.

This compares with 14 during the whole of 2004 and reflects a zero tolerance approach to the sale of laundered fuel, according to one senior customs investigator.