Garda warning as crime gangs turn to the illegal supply of bottled gas

Crime gangs are carving out a new money-making racket in the illegal supply of bottled gas.

The head of a specialist garda unit has warned the cylinders of gas posed dangers to both retailers and buyers.

Detective Superintendent George Kyne said they were concerned at a spread of “illegal gas distribution”, which was earning criminal gangs significant amounts of cash.

He said gangs were using branding logos of major gas suppliers and supplying gas cylinders at cheaper prices to the likes of rogue garages and other stores.

The gangs purchase the gas from legitimate suppliers and bottle it themselves. Det Supt Kyne stressed that security procedures were not used in the bottling of the gas.

“It is dangerous,” he said. “You don’t know the quality of it, the quality of the cylinders being used, how it is filled, how secure the gas is inside it.”

He was speaking at the launch of Interpol’s Turn Back Crime Initiative, a global public awareness campaign on the dangers of organised crime and its impact on everyday life.

According to Interpol, individual criminal activities, such as counterfeiting and cybercrime can be used to fund other illegal trades such as the trafficking of drugs and children. They also point out that the health of consumers is endangered by purchasing poor quality counterfeit products.

Det Supt Kyne, head of the Intellectual Property Crime Unit at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said one national garda operation, code-named Decipher, was launched in September 2013 and targeted the illicit cigarette trade, much of it counterfeit. Another operation, code-named Camac, was launched in 2011 and combated counterfeiting generally. It seized €700,000 worth of counterfeit clothing and labels in December 2011 and broke up a counterfeit clothing factory the following November. Two men are currently before the courts on that case.

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Counterfeit goods

Automotive: engines, body panels, air bags, tyres, shock absorbers, disc brake-pads, filters, chassis parts, grilles, wheels. etc

Chemicals: Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides

Clothes: All types of clothing, accessories, bags and footwear

Consumer electronics: Computer components and equipment, mobile phones, TVs, CD and DVD players, cameras, hair dryers, blenders, pressure cookers, kettles, smoke detectors, children’s toys

Electrical components: Components used in power distribution, motors and generators, turbines, circuit breakers, fuses and batteries

Food and drink: Fruit (kiwis), conserved vegetables, milk powder, butter, baby food, instant coffee, alcohol, drinks, sweets

Pharmaceuticals: Medicines for treating cancer, HIV, malaria, diabetes, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obesity, erectile dysfunction, as well as antibiotics, anti-psychotic products, steroids, pain killers and weight-loss tablets.

Tobacco: Cigarettes, cigars and snuff

Toiletries/Household: Shampoos, detergents, perfumes, skin care, deodorants, toothpaste, shaving systems, razor blades.