Smugglers ‘putting lives at risk’ by transporting illegal fuels on public ferries

Fuel smugglers are putting lives at direct risk by transporting illegal petrol and diesel in deliberately mislabelled tankers on public ferries to Britain, a situation that could be “lethal” if anything went wrong.

Revenue chairman Niall Cody revealed that a crackdown by tax authorities, gardaí and Government on the issue had defeated the practice in the Republic and was saving the State up to €200m a year.

Speaking at a meeting of the public accounts committee, he said this country has taken a serious stand against the practice but the problem still persists in Northern Ireland and Britain.