All-Ireland Co-Operation Targets Fuel Gangs

It emerged last night that 11 businesses and homes have been searched in cross-border raids targeting fuel fraud and money laundering.

Cross border, inter-agency co-operation has been shown to be at its highest level for some time with news that a laundering plant capable of producing 18 million litres of illicit fuel a year was dismantled in Co Monaghan.

It was uncovered in sheds a short distance from a minor road between Castleblayney and Crossmaglen.

In all, four people - one of them from Northern Ireland and the rest from the Irish Republic - have been arrested.

It all happened on foot of a major all-Ireland operation to tackle suspected fuel fraud and money laundering and saw the various commercial and private addresses raided yesterday morning in counties Armagh, Tyrone, Galway, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath and Dublin.

Officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) executed search warrants at five addresses in counties Tyrone and Armagh.

At the same time, as part of ongoing investigations into organised criminal activity, officers from the Garda's Organised Crime Unit, NBCI, Criminal Assets Bureau, Revenue Customs Service also swooped.

They were supported by the Emergency Response Unit, and Gardaí from Divisional Units in the Northern and Western Regions including Regional Support Units.

The Irish police said that, during the operation a search was carried out at Corragarry, Casteblaney, Co Monaghan where the large fuel laundering plant was uncovered.

Gardaí also undertook searches were also carried out at five filling stations in counties Galway, Offaly, Dublin, Westmeath, and Roscommon at the same time.

Gardaí arrested four men with one man, aged in his 20s and a second in his 30s, detained at Monaghan Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

Two men aged in their 40s were also detained at Tullamore and Roscommon Garda Stations under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

The police said that during the operation approximately 140,000 litres of laundered fuel was seized.

This multi agency cross border investigation relates to excise evasion, money laundering and other offences surrounding the laundering and sale of green diesel through a number of rented retail garage outlets.

Bob Gaiger, HMRC Spokesperson said: "Serious and organised criminals are increasingly sophisticated, and the measures they use to avoid detection are increasingly complex.

"They are attacking the tax system in many different ways with the aim of stealing huge amounts of revenue.

"The operation shows that those who think they can use the border as a way to commit crime or hide their criminal proceeds and escape justice, need to think again," he said, last night.

"Our response through the Cross Border Fuel Fraud Enforcement Group (CBFFEG) is to ensure we are targeting those individuals and groups doing most harm in our communities.

"By making better use of existing tools and working together more effectively, we will disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups and their activities.

"Fuel fraud is not a victimless crime and by working together in partnership with our colleagues in the Republic of Ireland as part of the cross border group we will use the full array of sanctions at our disposal against those engaged in the illicit supply or commercial misuse of fuel, in order to recover lost revenues and prevent fraud recurring," he added.

Keeping Pressure Up

Last month, a laundering plant with the capacity to produce more than two million litres of illicit diesel a year and evade £1.3m in excise duty per annum was uncovered by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in Co Down.

HMRC, accompanied by the PSNI, raided commercial premises in Banbridge in August and seized 6,000 litres of fuel and a commercial vehicle and dismantled the laundering equipment on site.

It was estimated that the plant could have produced 6,000 litres of illegally laundered fuel a day, or 2.19 million litres a year.

(BMcC/GK)