Police clamp down on NI fuel cheats

Fines totalling £13,000 (€18,900) have been imposed for the use of illegal fuel during a two day police and customs clampdown in the west of Northern Ireland.

Customs officials confirmed that 24 vehicles out of almost 600 stopped in Enniskillen, Strabane and Derry tested positive for illegal fuel.

It is illegal to fill vehicles with red diesel, which is used in agricultural machinery in Northern Ireland.

Motorists are also forbidden to use its equivalent in the South - green diesel.

The dye in both types of diesel is filtered out by black marketeers using chemicals and acids.

However motorists run the risk of damaging the fuel pumps of their cars if the chemicals and acids remain.

During the joint operation on Wednesday, one commercial and one private vehicle were seized in Derry.

Illegal fuel was also found in another commercial vehicle, a privately owned vehicle and a tanker was caught using a kerosene/derv mix.

On the same day in Strabane, illegal fuel was detected in three commercial vehicles.

In Enniskillen, red diesel was discovered in 10 private vehicles during a joint police and customs operation yesterday. Six tankers were also seized.

Customs head of detection Colin McAllister said the seizure of commercial vehicles showed it was “no longer the case that using illegal fuel is worth the risk”.

He said: “All companies who have commercial vehicles detected will face an audit and could be liable to heavier fines in respect of previous misuse.

“Motorists need to be aware of the real costs of buying cheap diesel. It puts honest filling stations out of business and robs public services of funding.”