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Customs raid reveals red diesel laundering

22nd August 2002, Page 10
22nd August 2002
Page 10
Page 10, 22nd August 2002 — Customs raid reveals red diesel laundering
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1 Customs officers have uncovered three more arge red diesel laundering plants on the UK nainland.

Last week officers raided a site just outside Ilbury in Essex and seized thousands of litres of .ed diesel, laundered fuel and highly dangerous icid waste product. Five oil tankers capable of iolding 150.000 litres of fuel were seized. It is :stimated that the daily output of the plant :ould have been 30,000 litres of fuel—equivalent o over £100,000 a week in last duty.

Officers also took away five vehicles from iearby premises that were running on the launlered fuel, as well as the tankers, fork-lift rucks, pumps and other equipment used at the dant.

John Barber. regional customs spokesman, ays the site was so dangerous that raiding taff were forced to call in Essex County Fire nd Rescue Service to remove the roof of the Austrial unit to provide sufficient ventilation s a result of acid fumes.

The Tilbury find is the latest in a long run of eizures. in July officers unearthed two plants n industrial estates on the same day—one on he Stonehills Industrial Park in north London, nd the other on the Swinton Industrial Estate in eeds. The London plant was capable of producing up to 350,000 litres of illegal fuel each week, while the Leeds site produced 100,000 litres of fuel a week. Five men were held in the July raids. No one was arrested in Tilbury.

Three Staffordshire ice-cream vans, along with two other vans, have been turned into scrap metal after Customs officers found them running on red dresel. The vans were being operated in the Kidsgrove area and were seized after Customs officers discovered the rebated fuel in their tanks. They were also being used to sell smuggled cigarettes and tobacco.

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People: John Barber
Locations: Leeds, London

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