Illegal fuel laundering plant dismantled in County Antrim

A fully operational fuel-laundering plant near Nutts Corner in County Antrim was dismantled by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officers in a joint operation with the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) on Friday 20 April.

HMRC officers also seized 13,450 litres of illicit fuel.

Two people arrested at the site were interviewed and later released on police bail pending further enquiries.

The filtration type laundering plant was hidden in a farm outbuilding not far from a public road and nearby residential property.

Two vehicles were detained and a transit van seized along with a forklift truck, storage tanks, fuel pumps and filtration equipment. Eight tons of contaminated waste was also removed from the site. It has been estimated that the output of the plant was 20,000 litres per week with a potential annual revenue loss of almost £625,000.

There was evidence of significant leakage from the shed containing the laundering plant into a tributary of the Dundesert River and contaminating adjacent agricultural land. EHS officers are currently considering the best options for clean up that will prevent further damage especially to the main river.

HMRC Acting Head of Criminal Investigation Northern Ireland, said: “Revenue & Customs officers have stopped a substantial amount of harmful diesel from damaging engines and affecting honest businesses. The revenue lost should be going to our schools and hospitals, not into the pockets of criminals.”

He 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.”

(JM/KMcA)