Boyle ruling sends out clear message By Roger Brown POLICE
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SAY the decision to order two former directors at Northern Ireland haulage company Boyle Transport to pay £1.8m under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 sends a message to hauliers who falsify tachograph records.
At a hearing last week, Carlisle Crown Court was told Patrick Boyle, 67, and Mark Boyle, 38, both from Newry, Co Down, had benefitted from their criminality to the sum of £10,016,810. They were told to pay £1,835,793 to the public purse.
Sergeant Graeme Hodgson from Cumbria Police, which carried out the investigation with Vosa, said: "At the heart of this investigation is not the desire to simply punish two individuals, but to send a message to all sectors of the haulage industry that we can and will reach those who force drivers to break the law by manipulation and coercion, by pay sanctions."
At the hearing the judge gave Patrick Boyle six months to pay £1,097,622. If it is not paid by then he will serve an extra five-and-a-half years in prison. Mark Boyle was given six months to pay £738,171 or serve four extra years.
In April 2011, at Carlisle Crown Court, Patrick and Mark were given two-year and 18-month prison sentences respectively after pleading guilty to conspiring with drivers to make false tacho records.
VikkiWoodfine, transport lawyer at DWF, said: "Given the amount the Boyles were shown to have made from their criminal activity, the amount ordered in this case could only ever have been measured highly."