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23/03/2007
Illegal fuel plant uncovered in County Armagh
An acid fuel plant has been dismantled following an operation by the HM Revenue & Customs, with assistance by the PSNI.
The mobile plant had been concealed in the back of a disused truck close to nearby houses in County Armagh on Wednesday.
Pumps and storage equipment used in the illegal operation were also seized. The plant had the capacity to produce 70,000 of laundered fuel per week.
Half a tonne of toxic contaminated sludge, the hazardous chemical residue of the laundering process was also cleared from the site and a nearby lake also showed signs of the indiscriminate dumping of this type of waste.
In a second operation HMRC and PSNI officers visited commercial premises in the same area, after a motorist was found to be using laundered fuel.
11,700 litres of fuel was detained along with a quantity of smuggled cigarettes.
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 chemical markers in duty-rebated fuel had not been shut down, it would have meant an annual revenue loss of around £2.2 million. This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of criminals.”
Ms Eyden continued: “People need to be aware also of the potential environment damage that can be caused by the indiscriminate dumping in our countryside of the waste products from the laundering process.”
(JM)
The mobile plant had been concealed in the back of a disused truck close to nearby houses in County Armagh on Wednesday.
Pumps and storage equipment used in the illegal operation were also seized. The plant had the capacity to produce 70,000 of laundered fuel per week.
Half a tonne of toxic contaminated sludge, the hazardous chemical residue of the laundering process was also cleared from the site and a nearby lake also showed signs of the indiscriminate dumping of this type of waste.
In a second operation HMRC and PSNI officers visited commercial premises in the same area, after a motorist was found to be using laundered fuel.
11,700 litres of fuel was detained along with a quantity of smuggled cigarettes.
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 chemical markers in duty-rebated fuel had not been shut down, it would have meant an annual revenue loss of around £2.2 million. This is revenue that should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of criminals.”
Ms Eyden continued: “People need to be aware also of the potential environment damage that can be caused by the indiscriminate dumping in our countryside of the waste products from the laundering process.”
(JM)
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