Fuel laundry defrauded the public of £9m a year
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A MASSIVE fuel-laundering plant in Northern Ireland has been shut down. The plant, in the Killeavey area of South Armagh, was estimated to be costing the government almost Om per year in lost tax revenue from an output of 250,(()0 litres per week.
A joint operation between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Environmental Heritage Service sei7ed 27,000 litres of laundered fuel along with tanks, pumps, an LC; V and a large quantity of acid waste.
Maggie Eyden,HMRC Head of Detection for Northern Ireland, says: In the second successful operation in a week, Revenue and Customs officers have stopped a substantial amount of harmful diesel from damaging engines and affecting honest businesses.
"If this sophisticated 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 nearly Dm. This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of a few individuals."