10/08/2007

Co Armagh Fuel Laundering Plant Is Raided

A fuel laundering plant has been raided by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) near Keady in Co Armagh.

The illegal operation had the potential capacity to produce 105,000 litres of laundered fuel per week, with an estimated annual revenue loss of around £3.3m.

HMRC officers, assisted by PSNI, searched premises at Listrakelt Road in the Keady area on Wednesday afternoon and uncovered and dismantled a sophisticated acid fuel laundering plant.

HMRC officers seized 25,000 litres of laundered fuel, three vehicles, four large tanks, pumps, compressors, and filtration and storage equipment.

HMRC Head of Detection in Northern Ireland, Maggie Eyden said: “This HMRC and PSNI operation shows how joint working, as part of the Organised Crime Task Force, can stop substantial amounts of harmful diesel entering the legitimate fuel market and supports Revenue & Customs’ ongoing crackdown on the sale and use of illegal fuel across Northern Ireland.”

Ten tonnes of toxic contaminated sludge, the hazardous chemical residue of the laundering process, were cleared from the site.

(SB)

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