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02/02/2007
Fuel laundering operation stopped in County Armagh
A mobile fuel-laundering plant has been dismantled and 3,000 litres of illegal fuel seized by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers during a joint operation with PSNI.
HMRC said that on Tuesday January 30, six tonnes of highly toxic acid waste had been removed from the site in County Armagh.
The estimated output of the plant was 150,000 litres per week with a potential annual revenue loss of £3.75 million.
A curtain-sided heavy goods vehicle adapted to carry a tank for transporting fuel, a fuel tanker, three metal storage tanks, and six other storage tanks containing toxic waste along with a generator, pumps and filtration equipment were also seized.
An environmentally damaging aspect of the site where the laundering plant was located was the construction of a roadway to a nearby lake which bore evidence of contamination and the indiscriminate dumping of toxic waste.
HMRC Head of Detection Northern Ireland, Maggie Eyden said: “HM Revenue & 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 £3.75 million. This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of a few individuals.
“People need to be aware of the potential environmental damage that can be caused by the indiscriminate dumping in our countryside of the waste products from the laundering process. They need to consider what happens to the waste by product and the damage caused by contamination to arable land and our water and rivers as well as the cost to taxpayers and local ratepayers for its safe disposal.”
Ms Eyden continued: “The success of this operation is a result of our determined efforts, along with our partners in the Organised Crime Task Force, to disrupt and dismantle the illegal supply of fuel. Organised crime has a detrimental and harmful effect on all our communities as well as a damaging impact on our environment. HMRC is keen to work closely with local people and communities in the fight against crime and I would urge the public to contact our freephone hotline 0800 59 5000 and let us know of any fuel misuse or suspicious activities in their area”.
(EF)
HMRC said that on Tuesday January 30, six tonnes of highly toxic acid waste had been removed from the site in County Armagh.
The estimated output of the plant was 150,000 litres per week with a potential annual revenue loss of £3.75 million.
A curtain-sided heavy goods vehicle adapted to carry a tank for transporting fuel, a fuel tanker, three metal storage tanks, and six other storage tanks containing toxic waste along with a generator, pumps and filtration equipment were also seized.
An environmentally damaging aspect of the site where the laundering plant was located was the construction of a roadway to a nearby lake which bore evidence of contamination and the indiscriminate dumping of toxic waste.
HMRC Head of Detection Northern Ireland, Maggie Eyden said: “HM Revenue & 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 £3.75 million. This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of a few individuals.
“People need to be aware of the potential environmental damage that can be caused by the indiscriminate dumping in our countryside of the waste products from the laundering process. They need to consider what happens to the waste by product and the damage caused by contamination to arable land and our water and rivers as well as the cost to taxpayers and local ratepayers for its safe disposal.”
Ms Eyden continued: “The success of this operation is a result of our determined efforts, along with our partners in the Organised Crime Task Force, to disrupt and dismantle the illegal supply of fuel. Organised crime has a detrimental and harmful effect on all our communities as well as a damaging impact on our environment. HMRC is keen to work closely with local people and communities in the fight against crime and I would urge the public to contact our freephone hotline 0800 59 5000 and let us know of any fuel misuse or suspicious activities in their area”.
(EF)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:The day will be very windy with strong to gale force westerly winds becoming occasionally severe along the north coast. Sunny spells will be interspersed with scattered showers. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:West to northwest gale force winds, severe along the north coast, will continue overnight. Frequent showers persist, merging into longer periods of rain at times and turning wintry. Minimum temperature 1 °C.
