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Customs raid yard in search for red diesel
Page 6
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• A Liverpool haulier has been left fuming after Customs seized trucks and fuel from his premises during a raid and then demanded £2,000 for their return.
Lee Gibbons, who runs Sandhills-based Gibbons Logistics, says that Customs visited his premises four weeks age to carry out a seemingly routine search.
During this they dipped his 6,000-litre fuel bunker and several vehicles and allegedly found traces of red agricultural diesel; Customs seized two of his six trucks and the contents of the fuel tank. However, subsequent tests by fuel firm Shell apparently revealed nothing wrong with the fuel.
Gibbons has finally had the vehicles returned after almost a month of wrangling and with Customs eventually deciding not to press charges. However, to add insult to injury, he was asked to pay £2,000 In removal arid storage costs for the trucks.
He adds: "We purchased the fuel in good faith and have receipts to prove it, but since this we've had to lay two drivers off and have suffered a loss of revenue and had our reputation damaged—it'sjust not geed enough."
Matthew King, a Customs spokesman says that rebated fuel was found in the vehicles' tanks arid Customs was perfectly within its rights to seize the trucks, He adds: "We could have given the firm, at the very least, a penalty for that of £500 per truck.
"However we have, in effect, given it the benefit of the doubt. As far as we are concerned that's the end of It."
• dominic.perry@rbi.co.uk