One arrest in HMRC raid

A man has been arrested after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) raided what is believed to be an illegal fuel laundering plant in Co Armagh.

According to HMRC, the operation uncovered near Newtownhamilton had the capacity to produce 140,000 litres of laundered fuel per week, with an estimated annual revenue loss of almost £4.4 million.

HMRC officers, assisted by PSNI officers, visited a working farm in the Newtownhamilton area on Saturday (10 February) where they dismantled an acid fuel laundering plant uncovered in farm buildings. They also recovered a generator, pumps, and storage equipment.

In addition, 37 tonnes of toxic contaminated sludge, the hazardous chemical residue of the laundering process, was cleared from the site which had livestock and an inhabited farm dwelling nearby.

HMRC Head of Detection Northern Ireland, Maggie Eyden said: "Revenue & Customs officers have 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 £4.4 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.

"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, please call the HMRC confidential freephone on 0800 59 5000."

(SP/KMcA)