Customs seize fuel tanker in smuggling investigation

Customs officers in Co Leitrim today seized a tanker containing around 35,000 litres of heating fuel smuggled across the border from the North.

The fuel, which is much cheaper in Northern Ireland, had been transported for sale in the Republic without being declared or any excise duty paid.

Officers said the potential loss of revenue on the fuel was approximately €10,000.

The seizure near Manorhamilton was a result of a routine surveillance operation by Customs & Excise officers into the movement of Northern Ireland fuels into the Republic.

No arrests were made but investigations were being carried out into the find.

The fuel was being tested to establish whether it had been mixed with agricultural diesel in order to create motor fuel.