Customs shut down €3.2m fuel laundering plant

An illegal fuel laundering plant with the capacity to defraud the UK exchequer of £2.25m (€3.23m) a year has been shut down in Co Armagh, it was revealed tonight.

Britain's HM Revenue and Customs dismantled the plant capable of producing 100,000 litres of fuel a week in an operation near Keady.

Revenue & Customs officers, assisted by police , searched farm buildings at Crossnenagh Road in the Derrynoose area last night and uncovered and dismantled what they called a crude but effective fuel laundering plant.

They also recovered 13,500 litres of laundered fuel and seized pumps, compressors, filtration and storage equipment.

In addition, over three tonnes of toxic contaminated sludge, the hazardous chemical residue of the laundering process, was cleared from the site.

Maggie Eyden, head of detection for Revenue & Customs in Northern Ireland, said officers had stopped a substantial amount of harmful diesel from damaging engines and affecting honest businesses.

“If this operation to illegally remove the chemical markers in duty-rebated fuel had not been shut down, it would have meant an annual revenue loss of around £2.25m (€3.23m).

“This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of a few individuals,” she said.

Ms Eyden said people needed to be aware of the potential environmental damage than could be caused by the indiscriminate dumping in the countryside of the waste products from the laundering process.

They also needed to consider what happened to the waste by-product and the damage caused by contamination to arable land, water and rivers, she added.

“This waste is a danger for the local community and the environment , and is difficult and expensive to dispose of safely.

“This is why I would urge members of the public if they know of any fuel misuse or suspicious activities to please call HMRC confidential freephone on 0800 59 5000,” said Ms Eyden.

In another operation on Thursday night Revenue and Customs officers seized 5,100 litres of illegal fuel from a lorry involved in a road traffic accident on the Killyleagh Road, Armagh.

The tipper lorry had been adapted with a large concealed tank and was attempting to evade a PSNI vehicle checkpoint when it crashed, said HMRC.

A man was later arrested and bailed to re-appear at a later date.