Massive illegal fuel Laundry found in NI
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By Robin Meczes
THE BIGGEST illegal fuel laundering site found in more than two years has been uncovered in County Down, Northern Ireland.
The site (right), capable of producing an estimated 24 million litres of diesel a year, was found by officers from HMRC and the Police Service of Northern Ireland at a farm in Mayobridge on 4 September. It is the largest illegal fuel facility found since March 2011, when a site with an estimated capacity of 30 million litres a year was closed down in County Armagh.
At the Mayobridge site, officers found equipment capable of filling six 25-litre drums at a time, fed by a conveyor, as well as wooden pallets and some wrapping film, all believed to be used to prepare illicit fuel for onward transport. They also discovered a 40ft truck carrying a 20,000-litre tank, thought to have been used to bring diesel to the site for laundering, and 24 tonnes of toxic waste — a by-product of the laundering process.
A 61-year-old man was arrested in connection with the find. HMRC declined to provide further details on the detainee, and did not comment on how the discovery was made. It did say, however, that it believed fuel laundered at the site was destined for the mainland. "We've had seizures in Britain similar to this in the past," said an HMRC spokeswoman. Meanwhile, HMRC has indicated it will soon complete the final stage of the joint UK/ROI evaluation of a number of poten
tial new fuel markers for rebated diesel. A spokesman told CM its tests to establish how well the markers resist removal efforts should be completed by the end of October. But it hasn't said how many of the 11 tenders it began looking at last November are still in the running, or given any indication whether any of them are good enough to replace the markers used in rebated fuel.