Louth oil laundering plant discovered

An oil laundering plant has been discovered in Co Louth today.

Officers from the Revenue Customs Service along with Gardaí carried out a raid on the operation in Tatebane, Hackballscross in Dundalk in the early hours of this morning.

Three men, two from the North and one with an address in Co Louth, were arrested and taken to Dundalk garda station.

The raid was carried out on the plant in Tatebane following a surveillance operation involving Revenue and Gardaí.

It had the capacity to launder around 18 million litres of fuel a year, with a potential loss to the exchequer of €9m a year.

Around 30,000 litres of illicit fuel, 53 bags of bleaching earth, one tanker and three lorries were seized at the site, along with ancillary equipment.

Officers also discovered 36 tonnes of toxic waste and a "sibín" on the premises.