HMRC seizes truck hiding ‘illicit fuel’
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A FLATBED truck, containing a concealed tank built into the chassis designed to carry thousands of litres of suspected laundered diesel, has been seized by HMRC during an operation in Northern Ireland.
HMRC officers stopped the vehicle on the A1 near Banbridge on 22 September and, after a thorough search, found an additional tank, which contained 3,000 litres of what is believed to be laundered green diesel (Ireland’s red diesel equivalent).
A man from the Newtownhamilton area was arrested and interviewed in connection with the find, but was later released on bail pending further investigation. The lorry and fuel were seized.
John Whiting, HMRC assistant director of criminal investigation, said: “Those involved in the transportation of illicit fuel care nothing for the safety of other road users. The fact that this vehicle had been adapted to conceal a large fuel tank shows a total disregard for public safety. HMRC takes the unfair and illegal practice of selling illicit fuel very seriously.”